Afghan

Borrowed from Classical Persian افغان (afġān, “Afghan”), from Bactrian αβαγανο (abagano), first attested in the fourth century CE, most likely a compound of *apāka- (“distant, faraway”), from Proto-Iranian *Hápa, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hápa (“away”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó + *-āna (“ethnic group”), from Proto-Indo-European *-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.

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈæfˌɡæn/, /ˈæfɡən/, /ˈæf(ˌ)ɡɑːn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æn, -ɑːn

Afghan (plural Afghans)

2. A native or inhabitant of Afghanistan; a person of Afghan citizenship or nationality and their descendants. [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^[1]:

     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.

3. (historical) A person of Pashtun ethnicity. [from 1625]
4. Synonym of Afghan rug. [from 1888]
5. Synonym of Afghan Hound. [from 1918]
6. Synonym of Afghan coat. [from 1974]
7. Alternative letter-case form of afghan (“crocheted or knitted blanket or throw”)
8. (New Zealand) Alternative letter-case form of afghan (“type of iced chocolate biscuit”)

• Afghanisation
• Afghanization

• →? French: afghan, Afghan

Afghan

1. Pashto, a language primarily spoken by Pashtun people in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. [from 1811]
2. (UK, military slang) Clipping of Afghanistan.

   He will be in Afghan for another six months.

• Pashto
• Pashtun

Afghan (not comparable)

1. Of, from or relating to Afghanistan.

   Hyponym: Kabuli

   • 2021 September 13, Priscilla Alvarez and Oren Liebermann, “Inside the effort to resettle thousands of Afghans in the United States”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     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.

2. Of, from, or pertaining to the Pashtun ethnic community.

• Appendix:Countries of the world

• “Afghan, n. and adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2025.

Nominalization of afghan, ultimately from Persian افغان (afġân).

• IPA^(key): /af.ɡɑ̃/

Afghan m (plural Afghans, feminine Afghane)

1. Afghan (native or inhabitant of Afghanistan) [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)‎^[3], 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. »

     "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."

• “afghan, -ane, adj. et n.”, in Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th edition, 1992–2024, →ISBN