adj
Common
Afghan
AF-gan
Afghan (adj) means relating to Afghanistan or its people and culture. Example: “The restaurant serves traditional Afghan cuisine.”
adj
1
Relating to Afghanistan or its people and culture.
"The restaurant serves traditional Afghan cuisine."
"After the biggest military evacuation in history, the Biden administration will now resettle more than 60,000 Afghan refugees inside the US over the next several weeks."
— Priscilla Alvarez and Oren Liebermann, Inside the effort to resettle thousands of Afghans in the United States (2021)
noun
1
A knitted or crocheted blanket.
"Her grandmother made her an afghan for her wedding."
How to use Afghan
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither something relating to Afghanistan, or (lower case) a cosy knitted blanket.
Common pairings
an Afghan afghan blanket
Afghan cuisine
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Word forms
- Plural
- afghans
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The restaurant serves traditional _____ cuisine.
Etymology
From Persian afghan, ultimately from an old Bactrian word thought to mean roughly "people from a distant land."
Synonyms
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Frequently asked questions
What does “Afghan” mean?
The word “Afghan” means relating to Afghanistan or its people and culture. In plain terms, either something relating to Afghanistan, or (lower case) a cosy knitted blanket.
How do you pronounce “Afghan”?
“Afghan” is pronounced AF-gan (/ˈæfˌɡæn/ in IPA).
How do you use “Afghan” in a sentence?
Here is “Afghan” used in a sentence: “The restaurant serves traditional Afghan cuisine.”
What part of speech is “Afghan”?
Depending on how it is used, “Afghan” can be an adjective and a noun.
Where does the word “Afghan” come from?
The word “Afghan” comes from Persian. From Persian afghan, ultimately from an old Bactrian word thought to mean roughly "people from a distant land.".
Is “Afghan” a common word?
“Afghan” is a fairly common word in modern English.
How many meanings does “Afghan” have?
“Afghan” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: relating to Afghanistan or its people and culture.
When is Afghan capitalized and when is afghan lowercase?
Afghan is capitalized when it refers to Afghanistan or its people and culture, since it functions as a proper adjective or noun tied to a nationality. When referring to a knitted or crocheted blanket, afghan is typically written lowercase because it names an object rather than a nationality.
What is the difference between Afghan and Afghani?
Afghan is the standard adjective and noun describing people, culture, or things relating to Afghanistan. Afghani technically refers to the currency of Afghanistan, though it is sometimes used informally, and less correctly, in place of Afghan to describe people or culture.
Why is a blanket called an afghan?
An afghan blanket is a knitted or crocheted blanket, and the term is used generally for this style of blanket regardless of who made it. The dictionary definition does not specify an origin story, so no historical claim can be confirmed beyond the naming connection to the word Afghan.
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