Afghan

Used in: 1 country

Origin: Classical

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.

Etymology: Wiktionary (CC-BY-SA)

Name Variants & Related

Afghani Derived from Afghan
Afghanyar Derived from Afghan
Afghanistan Derived from Afghan
Abgar Classical origin
Afrasiab Classical origin
Aqdas Classical origin
Aryan Classical origin
Balkh Classical origin
Begum Classical origin
Dari Classical origin

Popularity by Country

Afghan

Rank #3763

ONS + GRO (merged) ↗

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