What is "afghan"

Afghan \Af"ghan\, n.

1. A native of Afghanistan.

2. A kind of worsted blanket or wrap.

Afghan \Af"ghan\, a. Of or pertaining to Afghanistan.

name of the people of Afghanistan, technically only correctly applied to the Durani Afghans; Old Afghan chronicles trace the name to an Afghana, son of Jeremiah, son of Israelite King Saul, from whom they claimed descent, but this is a legend. The name is first attested in Arabic in al-'Utbi's "History of Sultan Mahmud" written c.1030 C.E. and was in use in India from 13c. Attested from 1833 as a type of blanket or wrap (in full, Afghan shawl); 1973 as a style of sheepskin coat; 1877 as a type of carpet; 1895 as a breed of hunting dog.

a. 1 Of, from, or pertaining to Afghanistan. 2 Of, from, or pertaining to the Pashtun ethnic community. n. 1 A person from Afghanistan or of Afghan descent. 2 A person of Pashtun ethnicity or of Pashtun descent. 3 A breed of dogs, the Afghan hound. n. 1 Pashto, a language primarily spoken by Pashtun people in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. 2 (context UK military slang English) (short for Afghanistan English)

1. n. a blanket knitted or crocheted in strips or squares; sometimes used as a shawl

2. a native or inhabitant of Afghanistan [syn: Afghanistani]

3. an Iranian language spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan; the official language of Afghanistan [syn: Pashto, Pashtu, Paxto, Afghani]

4. a coat made of sheepskin [syn: sheepskin coat]

5. tall graceful breed of hound with a long silky coat; native to the Near East [syn: Afghan hound]

Afghan ( Pashto also Persian: افغان; see etymology) refers to something from Afghanistan, particularly a citizen of that country. Prior to this definition, it was used by Persian speakers and those influenced by the Persian language to denote the Pashtun people. In modern times, "Afghan" is rarely used as an ethnic term for the Pashtuns but is rather used as the national demonym for all citizens of Afghanistan — Pashtuns, Tajiks, and also a large number of Hazaras, Uzbeks, Aimaqs, Turkmens, Balochs, Nuristanis, Pashayis, Pamiris, Arabs, and others. According to the Encyclopædia Iranica, the word Afghan (afḡān) in current political usage means any citizen of Afghanistan, regardless of their tribal or religious affiliation. According to the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan, all Afghans are equal in rights and obligations before the law. The fourth article of the current Constitution of Afghanistan states that citizens of Afghanistan consist of Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, Aymaq, Arab, Baluch, Pashayi, Nuristani, Qezelbash, Gujjars, Brahui, and members of other tribes.

As an adjective, the word Afghan also means "of or relating to Afghanistan or its people, language, or culture".

An afghan is a blanket of knitted or crocheted wool. It is sometimes also called a "throw".

"An afghan is the knitted or crocheted wrap that everyone has seen thrown over the back of a rocking chair or folded at the foot of Grandmother's bed. Afghans are often given as gifts and may become family heirlooms. Many people use an afghan as a throw on a chilly day, as a bedspread, or as decoration for the back of a chair. An afghan also makes a good three-season wrap, adding warmth without a lot of weight."

The ethnonym Afghan ( ) has been used in the past to refer to members of Pashtun tribes, and that usage persists in some places in Afghanistan. The name Afghanistan ( ; Afghan + -stan) is a derivation from the ethnonym Afghan, originally in the loose meaning "land of the Pashtuns" and referred to the Pashtun tribal areas south of the Hindu Kush. Initially they were known as "Abgan" during 1st and 2nd century, later in 3rd century, the Sassanids mention an eastern tribe called Abgân, which is attested in its Arabic form (Afġān) in the 10th century Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam. Through the nineteenth century, the term "Afghan" was used by various writers as a synonym for "Pashtun", but such usage now is rare in English.

Since the Afghan Constitution of 1964, "Afghan" officially refers to every citizen of the state of Afghanistan, regardless which ethnic group the individual belongs to.

The "Afghans" or "Ghans" were camel caravaners who worked in Outback Australia from the 1860s to the 1930s. They included Pashtun, Punjabi, Baloch and Sindhi men from the region between the southern Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and the Indus River in what is now Pakistan, as well as others from Kashmir, Rajasthan, Egypt, Persia and Turkey. Besides providing vital support to exploration and settlement of the arid interior of the country, these cameleers played a major role in establishing Islam in Australia, building the country's first mosque at Marree in South Australia.

Afghan may refer to:

• The demonym for a citizen of Afghanistan, or a person of Afghan descent belonging to any of the country's ethnic groups
• The ethnonym for a person who's a member of a Pashtun tribal group, and/or speaks one of the east-iranic Pashto dialects as their mother tongue, Afghan (ethnonym)
• The country of Afghanistan, commonly abbreviated as Afghan or Afg
• Afghan Hound, a breed of dog originating in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan and the surrounding regions of Central Asia
• Afghan (blanket)
• Afghan rug or Persian rug, which are regarded as the most exquisite rugs in the world.
• Afghan cuisine
• Afghan, Iran, a village in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran

Media

• The Afghan, a 2006 thriller novel by Frederick Forsyth
• Afgan (film), a 1989 documentary

Australia

• Afghan (Australia) or "Ghan", camel drivers from Afghanistan and Pakistan who came to the Australian outback
• The Ghan, a passenger train in Australia