Afghan
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Classical Persian افغان (afğān, “Afghan”), from Bactrian αβαγανο (abagano), first attested in the fourth century CE, most likely a compound of *apāka- (“distant, faraway”), from Proto-Iranian *Hapá, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hapá (“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.
Pronunciation edit
- (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈæfˌɡæn/, /ˈæfɡən/, /ˈæf(ˌ)ɡɑːn/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - Rhymes: -æn, -ɑːn
Noun edit
Afghan (plural Afghans)
- A person from Afghanistan.
- (historical) A person of Pashtun ethnicity.
- Synonym of Afghan Hound.
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Proper noun edit
Afghan
- Pashto, a language primarily spoken by Pashtun people in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan.
- (UK, military slang) Clipping of Afghanistan.
- He will be in Afghan for another six months.
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Adjective edit
Afghan (not comparable)
- Of, from, or pertaining to Afghanistan.
- Of, from, or pertaining to the Pashtun ethnic community.
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French edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
Afghan m (plural Afghans, feminine Afghane)
- Afghan (resident or native of Afghanistan)
Further reading edit
- “Afghan”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.