Meanings
plural Pathans
- BritishIndiaSouth AsiaSynonym of Pashtun; a member of the Pashto-speaking people of today’s north-west Pakistan and south-east Afghanistan.
After long deliberation about the choice of nations, I became a “Pathán.”
1855, Sir Richard Burton, Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah, Dover, published 1964, pages 44–51 more example
The 57-mile line from Jesselton to Beaufort was a more substantial undertaking than that from Weston, and a contract was given to the firm of George Pauling & Company, which brought many Pathans, veterans of railway building in India, to tackle the job.
1958 November 28, M. H. Baker, “The North Borneo Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 783Synonyms: Pashtun
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of Pashtun; a member of the Pashto-speaking people of today’s north-west Pakistan and south-east Afghanistan.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna member of the mountain people living in the eastern regions of Afghanistan
nounan ethnic minority speaking Pashto and living in northwestern Pakistan and southeastern Afghanistan
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Hindustani
- EnglishPathan
Borrowed from Hindustani پٹھان / पठान (paṭhān). Doublet of Pashtun.
More words from Hindustani
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Pathan
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Pathan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pathan
“Pathan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pathan. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Pathan,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pathan.
Source: Pathan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.