'' (عجم) in , Greeks , Ethiopians , and the somewhat related Nabataeans . Over time the term became specialized and referred to Persians almost exclusively as an ethnic term, but varied in its usage from place to place as the early Muslim conquests led to a much wider proliferation of Arabic-speakers.
During the early age of the Caliphates , Ajam was often synonymous for ''stranger''. In some cases it was considered a Derogatory word. In the eastern portions of the Middle East , it was generally applied to the Persians , while in Al-Andalus it referred to speakers of Romance Languages - becoming " Aljamiado " in Spanish in reference to Arabic-script writing of those languages - and in West Africa , '' Ajami '' similarly refers to The Writing Of Local Languages such as Hausa and Fulani in the Arabic Alphabet .
- Among s and Azeris [http://www.peyama-kurd.com/arsiv_Kirmanci/pdf54/4.pdf , [http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:pyaGd76M6x8J:www.geocities.com/malperanudem/mehname/23/22.html+Ecem+Kurd+Fars&hl=en .
- Adjam, Hajjam, Ajaim, Ajami, Akham (as Axam in Spain for ajam), Ayam in eastern Europe.
- In Turkish , the usage of the term is not applied to any ethnic group, but instead appears to have evolved from the original Arabic usage for outsiders in-general and shifted into a different meaning as the term ''ajemi'' (in modern Turkish ''acemi'') literally means ''clumsy'', ''inept'' or ''novice''.
- In Iraq Ajam is primarly used to refer to Shia s, especially to those of Iranian origin.
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