Pashtun
Americannoun
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a people of eastern and southern Afghanistan and neighboring regions of northwest Pakistan; the dominant ethnic group in Afghanistan.
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Also called Pathan. a member of the Pashtun people.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of Pashtun
First recorded in 1810–20; from Pashto Pəx̌tānə, Pax̌tūn, Pəshtūn
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The city grabbed international attention in 2001, when the Sunni Pashtun Taliban authorities destroyed two large Buddha statues cherished by the predominantly Shia Hazara community in the region.
From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026
Born in 1952, the son of a civil engineer, Khan grew up with four sisters in an affluent urban Pashtun family in Lahore, Pakistan's second-biggest city.
From Reuters ● May 9, 2023
Among the groups of mujahideen who fought the Soviets were young men from the Pashtun tribe who had studied at Islamic religious schools in Pakistan.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
Both Andarab and Panjshir are dominated by the Persian-speaking Tajik community, whereas the Taliban are predominantly Pashtun.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2022
They’re lighter brown than mine, with specks of hazel and green, what she claims is the assertion of her distant Pashtun blood.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
