Pushtun
/pʊʃˈtuːn/noun
A member of the Pashtun ethnic group, chiefly inhabiting Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan.
Did you know?The name is often connected with the ancient Greek “Pactyans,” but scholars caution that the exact linguistic relationship remains debated rather than proven.
Etymological Timeline
5th Century BCE
Ancient Greek
Pactyans
“A people mentioned by Herodotus in the eastern regions of the Persian Empire; often proposed, cautiously, as an early reference to the Pashtun.”
1st Millennium CE
Middle Persian
Paxlō / Pahlaw
“Forms associated in Iranian geographical traditions with eastern Iranian peoples or regions; their precise relationship to Pashtun is disputed.”
Medieval Period
Pashto
Paxtūn / پښتون
“The native ethnonym for a member of the Pashtun people, with the consonant cluster varying by dialect.”
16th Century
Persian
Afghān / Pashtūn
“Persian sources used Afghan as a broad name for Pashtun peoples, while Pashtun and related forms continued as internal ethnonyms.”
18th–19th Century
English
Pushtun / Pathan
“English adopted several forms for the people, including Pushtun, Pashtun, and the Indian-English form Pathan.”
Modern English
English
Pushtun
“A less common English variant of Pashtun, referring to the same ethnic group.”