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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

In March, an Afghan man who once fought alongside U.S. troops died of an allergic reaction.

From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026

On the Afghan side of the Torkham border crossing, children and adults wheeled their luggage or carried belongings atop their heads, as they moved from desk to desk to log their arrival.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

On 29 January, the Afghan embassy in Tehran said it had taken urgent steps to identify and aid a number of Afghan migrants stranded on the Iran-Turkey border.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

There was fierce fighting along the frontier during that conflict and unprecedented Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan cities, including the capital and southern Kandahar where the Afghan Taliban's supreme leader is based.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

For honor and family, an Afghan will go to the ends of the earth.

From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi

Valley College, her crocheted afghan flying like a kite.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2024

It’s a form of manipulation and control like any other — except crocheted into an afghan and presented as love.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 17, 2022

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

“Right over here,” she answered, pulling back the covers on May’s bed, the pink-and-brown afghan May had crocheted with popcorn stitches.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

Once Afghans reach their destination -- often the places their relatives fled years ago -- organisations have helplines and projects to support them with their paperwork.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

While border officials contact authorities nationwide to verify the identity of those who don't have any form of ID, the process for newly arrived Afghans can be bewildering.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

He has worked on numerous cases involving Afghans and other migrants who alleged "ill-treatment, push-backs, denial of access to asylum procedures, and forced returns" around the Iran-Turkey border region.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

Mahmout Keçen, another migrant-rights activist based in Van, said the nature of the mountains "most commonly used by Afghans entering Turkey irregularly" meant crossings had to be made in difficult, risky weather conditions.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

We’re all Afghans, and that’s all that should matter.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini