Pukhtun
/pʊxˈtuːn/noun
A member of the Pashtun ethnic group of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Did you know?Pukhtun is an English spelling of the ethnic self-designation also rendered Pashtun, while the older English exonym Pathan came through Persian and South Asian usage.
Etymological Timeline
Rigvedic period, perhaps 2nd millennium BCE
Sanskrit
Paktha
“A people named in the Rigveda; its possible connection with the later Pashtun ethnonym is proposed but not proven.”
Classical antiquity
Greek
Pactyans
“A people mentioned by Greek writers in or near the eastern Iranian world, sometimes compared with the Rigvedic Pakthas and later Pashtuns.”
Medieval period
Persian
Afghān
“A widely used external name for Pashtun peoples; its relationship to Pukhtun is historically separate and etymologically disputed.”
Middle Pashto
Pashto
پښتون
“The Pashto self-designation for a Pashtun person.”
Modern English
English
Pukhtun
“An English transliteration referring to a Pashtun person, especially reflecting the pronunciation used in northern Pashto varieties.”