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• Afghan
  Afghan

  noun

  a native or inhabitant of Afghanistan.
• afghan
  afghan

  noun

  a knitted or crocheted wool blanket or shawl, esp one with a geometric pattern

Afghan

American  

[af-gan, -guhn] / ˈæf gæn, -gən /

noun

• Afghans
  plural

1. a native or inhabitant of Afghanistan.

2. afghan, a soft woolen blanket, crocheted or knitted, usually in a geometric pattern.

3. Also called Afghan hound.  one of a breed of swift hunting hounds having a long, narrow head and a long, silky coat.

4. Literary. Pashto.

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adjective

1. of Afghanistan or its people or language.

Afghan ¹ British  

/ -ɡən, æfˈɡænɪ, ˈæfɡæn, -ˈɡɑː- /

noun

1. a native, citizen, or inhabitant of Afghanistan

2. another name for Pashto

3. history an Indian camel driver employed in the outback of Australia

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adjective

1. denoting or relating to Afghanistan, its people, or their language

afghan ² British  

/ -ɡən, ˈæfɡæn /

noun

1. a knitted or crocheted wool blanket or shawl, esp one with a geometric pattern

2. a sheepskin coat, often embroidered and having long fur trimming around the edges

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Usage

See afghani.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Afghans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Afghan

First recorded in 1740–50; from Persian afghān “inhabitant of the Hindu Kush; a Pathan“

Explanation

An afghan is a knitted or crocheted blanket. You might spend Friday night curled up on the couch under an afghan watching old movies on TV. Many afghans are made from individual crocheted squares — called "granny squares" — stitched together into one big, multicolored blanket. Other afghans are striped or composed of large blocks of color. The connection of the name afghan with the people or country of Afghanistan is unclear, though some crochet and knitting fans believe that the original afghans, first made in the 1800s, were influenced by multi-colored blankets from that country.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Afghan afghan Afghans

As the Taliban rapidly seized territory, the Afghan government and military began to collapse:

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

It sounds like the Afghan Whigs trying very hard to be The Replacements, and does not remotely resemble everything that came after it.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

Ms. Eshaghian has proved in earlier films, including the Afghan prison doc “Love Crimes of Kabul,” that she can get people to talk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Greg Dulli and his Afghan Whigs are back with “Soft Control.”

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

I became a minor celebrity in the Afghan community.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Valley College, her crocheted afghan flying like a kite.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2024

Since September, Minnesota has welcomed 721 afghan evacuees according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

From Fox News ● Jan. 20, 2022

I wrote early on in that essay, trying to conjure the first moment I ever saw one as an infant — my parent's afghan hound, Easy.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2021

There was Peggy Foster, 82, an afghan over her shoulders, Ralph Lucas, 84, the only man in the group, and Jean Rose, 96, who kept surprising herself with the success of her rolls.

From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2021

My brother was lying on his bed, wrapped in an old afghan Tessie had crocheted for him.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

But many Afghans still keep pushing and praying for a different future – and hope the world won't forget them.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Ziad Salih, regional coordinator at IOM, described the ID card as "one of the essential pieces of the puzzle" for Afghans.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Lugging suitcases across the border after packing up in Pakistan, Afghans are returning home with their worldly possessions but often lack one key item to restart their lives: an identity card.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

In 2022, South Korea helped roughly 400 Afghans leave their country after the Taliban seized power, but it designated them as “special contributors” rather than refugees because they had employment ties with South Korean agencies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

Zendagi migzara, Afghans like to say: Life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end, kamyab, nah-kam, crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow, dusty car­avan of kochis.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini