afghan

afghan · noun¹

From Afghan.

Afghan · noun, proper noun, adjective²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*-nós
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₂epó
3. Proto-Indo-Iranian · derived from*Hápa“away”
4. Proto-Iranian · derived from*Hápa
5. Bactrian · derived fromαβαγανο
6. Classical Persian · borrowed fromافغان“Afghan”
7. English todayAfghan

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". 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.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from late 18th c. A native or inhabitant of Afghanistan.
• from 1625 A person of Pashtun ethnicity.
• from 1888 Synonym of Afghan rug.
• from 1918 Synonym of Afghan Hound.
• from 1974 Synonym of Afghan coat.
• from 1811 Pashto, a language primarily spoken by Pashtun people in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan.