Afghan
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Classical PersianCategory:English terms borrowed from Classical Persian#AFGHANCategory:English terms derived from Classical Persian#AFGHAN افغان (afġān, “Afghan”), from BactrianCategory:English terms derived from Bactrian#AFGHAN αβαγανο (abagano), first attested in the fourth century CE, most likely a compound of *apāka- (“distant, faraway”)Category:Bactrian terms in nonstandard scripts#AFGHAN, from Proto-IranianCategory:English terms derived from Proto-Iranian#AFGHAN *Hápa, from Proto-Indo-IranianCategory:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-Iranian#AFGHAN *Hápa (“away”), from Proto-Indo-EuropeanCategory:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#AFGHAN *h₂epó + *-āna (“ethnic group”)Category:Bactrian terms in nonstandard scripts#AFGHAN, from Proto-Indo-EuropeanCategory:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#AFGHAN *-nós, thus: "people from a distant land".[1] Various scholars have proposed Sanskrit etymologies since the nineteenth century (especially prior to the 2007 publication of earlier Bactrian attestations for the word), but linguist Johnny Cheung notes that these are "extremely difficult to reconcile" with recent evidence pointing to a Bactrian source.
Pronunciation
- (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈæfˌɡæn/, /ˈæfɡən/, /ˈæf(ˌ)ɡɑːn/Category:English 2-syllable words#AFGHANCategory:English 2-syllable words#AFGHANCategory:English 2-syllable words#AFGHANCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#AFGHAN
Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#AFGHANAudio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -æn, -ɑːnCategory:Rhymes:English/æn#AFGHANCategory:Rhymes:English/æn/2 syllables#AFGHANCategory:Rhymes:English/ɑːn#AFGHANCategory:Rhymes:English/ɑːn/2 syllables#AFGHAN
Noun
Afghan (plural Afghans)Category:English lemmas#AFGHANCategory:English nouns#AFGHANCategory:English countable nouns#AFGHANCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#AFGHANCategory:Pages with entries#AFGHANCategory:Pages with 2 entries#AFGHAN
- A person from Afghanistan. [from late 18th c.]
- Synonyms: Afghani, Afghanistani, Afghanese (dated)
- Hyponym: Kabuli
- 2021 September 13, Priscilla Alvarez and Oren Liebermann, “Inside the effort to resettle thousands of Afghans in the United States”, in CNN:
- Four cases of measles – a highly contagious virus – have also been discovered among Afghans who recently arrived in the US, prompting the administration to temporarily pause flights of Afghan refugees to the US.Category:English terms with quotations#AFGHAN
- (historicalCategory:English terms with historical senses#AFGHAN) A person of Pashtun ethnicity. [from 1625]
- Synonym of Afghan rug. [from 1888]
- Synonym of Afghan Hound. [from 1918]
- Synonym of Afghan coat. [from 1974]
- Alternative letter-case form of afghan (“crocheted or knitted blanket or throw”)
- (New ZealandCategory:New Zealand English#AFGHAN) Alternative letter-case form of afghan (“type of iced chocolate biscuit”)
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
Translations
Proper noun
AfghanCategory:English lemmas#AFGHANCategory:English proper nouns#AFGHANCategory:English uncountable nouns#AFGHANCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#AFGHANCategory:Pages with entries#AFGHANCategory:Pages with 2 entries#AFGHAN
- Pashto, a language primarily spoken by Pashtun people in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. [from 1811]
- (UKCategory:British English#AFGHAN, military slangCategory:English military slang#AFGHAN) Clipping of AfghanistanCategory:English clippings#AFGHAN.
- He will be in Afghan for another six months.Category:English terms with usage examples#AFGHAN
Synonyms
Translations
Adjective
Afghan (not comparable)Category:English lemmas#AFGHANCategory:English adjectives#AFGHANCategory:English uncomparable adjectives#AFGHANCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#AFGHANCategory:Pages with entries#AFGHANCategory:Pages with 2 entries#AFGHAN
- Of, from or relating to AfghanistanCategory:en:Demonyms#AFGHANCategory:en:Afghanistan#AFGHAN, its people, or its culture.
- Hyponym: Kabuli
- 2021 September 13, Priscilla Alvarez and Oren Liebermann, “Inside the effort to resettle thousands of Afghans in the United States”, in CNN:
- After the biggest military evacuation in history, the Biden administration will now resettle more than 60,000 Afghan refugees inside the US over the next several weeks.Category:English terms with quotations#AFGHAN
- Of, from, or pertaining to the Pashtun ethnic community.
Derived terms
Translations
See also
References
- “Afghan, n. and adj.”, in OED Online
, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2025.
French
Etymology
Nominalization of afghan, ultimately from PersianCategory:French terms derived from Persian#AFGHAN افغان (afġân).
Pronunciation
Noun
Afghan m (plural Afghans, feminine Afghane)Category:French lemmas#AFGHANCategory:French nouns#AFGHANCategory:French countable nouns#AFGHANCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#AFGHANCategory:French masculine nouns#AFGHANCategory:Pages with entries#AFGHANCategory:Pages with 2 entries#AFGHAN
- Afghan (native or inhabitant of Afghanistan)Category:fr:Demonyms#AFGHANCategory:fr:Afghanistan#AFGHAN [from early 19th c.][1]
- Hyponym: Kaboulien
- 1838, César Famin, “Afghanistan”, in La Crimée et les provinces russes en Asie Circassie et Géorgie (Univers. Histoire et description de tous les peuples), Paris: F. Didot, →OCLC, page 45:
- « Et cependant, malgré tous mes malheurs, je remercie encore Dieu de deux choses : « La première, d'être Afghan ; et la seconde, d'être Khoushâl Khattack. »Category:French terms with quotations#AFGHAN
- "And yet, despite all my misfortunes, I still thank God for two things: the first, for being Afghan, and the second, for being Khushal Khattack."
References
- ↑ “afghan”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012
Further reading
- “afghan, -ane, adj. et n.”, in Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th edition, 1992–2024, →ISBN