Pashtun

[ pash-toon, pahsh-, puhsh- ]

noun

1. a people of eastern and southern Afghanistan and neighboring regions of northwest Pakistan; the dominant ethnic group in Afghanistan.
2. Also called Pa·than [p, uh, -, tahn]. a member of the Pashtun people.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Pashtun people.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pashtun¹

First recorded in 1810–20; from Pashto Pəx̌tānə, Pax̌tūn, Pəshtūn

Example Sentences

"It is absolutely an accusation on Afghans and Pashtuns that they don't want daughter's education, but the issue is vice-versa," he said.

From BBC

Afghanistan has never recognized the porous border that runs through the Pashtun heartland and dilutes the power of the country’s largest ethnic group on both sides.

From Seattle Times

Afghanistan has never recognized the porous border that runs through the Pashtun heartland and dilutes the power of Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group on both sides.

From Seattle Times

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

In a frank political assessment, she told council members that the Taliban regime “remains insular and autocratic,” with “an unaccountable central authority” and an all-male government almost entirely from its Pashtun and rural base.

From Washington Times