This Glossary contains all of the words mentioned in the text as well as some additional local vocabulary that is relevant to the subject matter of this book. For Persian words I have followed the transliteration scheme used in the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. The following are Pashto phonemes rendered in Arabic letters and their equivalents in English letters, some of which include a diacritic:
The Pashto ښ is rendered x
The Pashto ځ is rendered dz
The Pashto څ is rendered ts
The Pashto ژ is rendered zh
The Pashto ږ is rendered g
The Pashto ړ is rendered r
The Pashto ڼ is rendered n
The Pashto ډ is rendered d
The Pashto ټ is rendered t
The five variations of [ی] in Pashto are not distinguished, each being transliterated as [ey].
English words are transliterated in the Pashto and Persian singular. Pluralization in Persian is rather uniform, while in Pashto it is far more irregular. There is no gender distinction among Persian words, but such marking is integral in Pashto and affects both the pluralization of words and their casing in actual usage. Most words in Pashto are inherently conceptualized as either masculine or feminine, but some Pashto words can assume both masculine and feminine forms, while others are basically gender neutral.
The voweling of these words is based upon a combination of two accents. The first is their local pronunciation in east and southeast Afghanistan as articulated by my father, who was born and raised in that region, and the second is my mid-western American accent. The result is some variation in the transliteration of one long and two short vowels within and between languages. In specific terms, the long vowel [و] is expressed as both ū and o, the short vowel [ َ ] is sometimes rendered [e], as is the short vowel [ ِ ].
The Afghan dialect of Persian, Dari, differs from Iranian Farsi in three main ways. The long [ی] pronounced [i] in Farsi assumes more of an [ay] sound in Dari, the long [و] pronounced [ū] in Farsi sounds more like [o] in Dari, and the short [ ِ ] pronounced [i] in Farsi sounds more like [e] in Dari. There is a much larger array of dialects in Pashto, which means that a number of phonemes have a range of alophones. This variation is much larger than the 'hard' [kh] and 'soft' [sh] pronunciations of [ښ], and involves at least [ځ] sounding as either [z or dz] and [ږ] being articulated as either [g] or [zh] depending on spatial location and accent.
Some words are found only in Pashto, others just in Persian. In Afghanistan during the early twentieth century, a number of Pashto words were incorporated into the Persian used by the Durrani state and its administrative apparati. When this occurred, there was often a significant transformation in the expression of the term in question. For example, the Pashto "woleswaley" (administrative division) became "woleswali" in Persian, and the Pashto "lmar" (sun) was Persianized to "elmar" in the context Durrani administration, official titulature, and state awards such as medals.
The large number of monetary units and textiles found in nineteenth-century Afghanistan are not incorporated here. For notice of some of the metallic currencies, their relative values and associated pricing schemes used in the markets of our concern, especially during Abd al-Rahaman's reign, readers can refer to Gregorian pp. 401-403, and Kakar, 1979, pp. 215-220 and 235-241. For some of the weights and measures used in nineteenth-century Afghanistan see Furdoonjee, Gregorian, pp. 404-406, Kakar, 1979, pp. 235-241, Jenkyns, pp. 21-22, Warburton, pp. 11-12, and "Memorandum of Information Available in the Foreign Department on the Government, Revenue, Population, and Territorial Divisions of Afghanistan," N.A.I., Foreign Secret (Supplementary) K.W., January 1880, Proceeding Nos. 536-544. For textile descriptions and terminology readers are directed to the Appendix in Habib, pp. 69-70.
| ENGLISH | PASHTO | PERSIAN |
|---|---|---|
| Account book | de ḥesāb ketāb | ketāb-i ḥesāb |
| Accounting | ḥisāb kawul | ḥisāb dārī |
| Administrative division | wuleswāley | wuleswālī |
| Afghan hundi | ḥawāla | ḥawāla |
| Afghan nomad trader | kochey, lohāney, pāwenda | kūchī, lohānī |
| Agent or factor | gumāshta | |
| Almond agent | bādāmī | |
| Almond | bādām | bādām |
| Antimony stone | rānza | sorma |
| Apple | mana | saib |
| Apprentice | zda kawunkey | shāgird |
| Apricot | zardālū | zardālū |
| Arbitration council | panchāyat | |
| Bangle | bangrey | chorī |
| Barley | orbaxey | jao |
| Government Bill collector (this item should now be moved into a new alphabetical location) | muḥaṣil | |
| Bill of exchange | hundī | hundī |
| Bird | mergha | parenda |
| Black sugar | gora | gūr |
| Blue | asmānī/nīlī | asmānī/nīlī/ābī |
| Bookkeeping | ketābat | ketābat |
| Brass | mes | mes |
| Bridle | qaiza (for the animal) and jelao (for the rider) | qaiza (for the animal) and jelao (for the rider) |
| Broker | dalāl | dalāl (alternately ‘arth furosh in Peshawar) |
| Brokerage duty | dalālī (also meaning occupation of brokerage) | |
| Budget | bodeja | bodeja |
| Bull | ghweyey | gao (genderless in Persian, modified by nar gaw for bull) |
| Business house | tujārat khāna | |
| Buyer | akhestūnkey | kharīdār |
| Cadastral | daftarī | |
| Camel | ūx | shutur |
| Candle | sham' | sham' |
| Caravan | kārwān | kārwān |
| Carpet | qālīna | qālīn |
| Century | pairey | qarn |
| Cherry | gailās | gailās |
| Chief secretary | mīr munshī | |
| Citadel (in Kabul) | bālā ḥeṣār | bālā ḥeṣār |
| City | xār | shahr |
| Clerk | kateb/merza | kateb/merza |
| Clothing | kālī | lebās, kālā |
| Coat | kurtey | kurtī |
| Color | rang | rang |
| Commercial contract | teka dār | teka dār |
| Confiscation | zabṭ | zabṭ |
| Contract | qarardad | qarardad |
| Contractor | qarār dādī | qarār dādī |
| Cooked (e.g., 'real' rupees) | pukh | pukhta |
| Cotton | punba | punba |
| Countryside | aṭrāf | aṭrāf |
| Cow | ghwā | gao (genderless in Persian, modified by mada gao for cow) |
| Crop harvest | ḥāṣel | ḥāṣel |
| Crown lands | khāleṣā | khāleṣa |
| Cultivator | dehqān | dehqān |
| Cumin | zīra | zīra |
| Customs | gomrok | gomrok |
| Debt | qarz | qarz |
| Deputy | nāyeb | nāyeb |
| District | 'alāq | 'alāqa |
| Document | sanad | sanad |
| Domestic | bahraney | dākhelī |
| Dried apricot | keshta | keshta |
| Dried chickpeas | nakhod | nakhod |
| Dried curd (whey) | korat | qorūt |
| Dried fruit | wucha maiwa | maiwa-ye khushk |
| Durrani government manual | dastūr al-'amal | |
| Durrani government regulation (written order) | nezām nāma | |
| (to) Dye | rang warkawul | rang dādan |
| Dyeing | rangawel | rangraez |
| Elephant | fīl | fīl |
| Embroidery | gul gandel | gul dozī |
| (to) Exchange | badlawul | badal kardan |
| (to) Export | ṣāderawal | ṣāder kardan |
| Exports | ṣāderāt | |
| Fall | maney | khazān |
| Farming | mzaka larel/deqānī | deqānī/zamīn dārī |
| Field or land | mzaka | zamīn |
| Fig | anjīr | anjīr |
| Flower | gol | gol |
| Food | ḍoḍey/rozi | nān/rozi |
| Fort holder | qalā dār | qalā dār |
| Fort | qalā | qalā |
| Fort-holder (state military officer) | fawjdār | |
| Fort-holder (local reckoning) | qalādār | qalādār |
| Fort-holder’s tax | fawjdārī | |
| Fresh fruit | tāza maiwa | maiwa-ye tāza |
| Fruit tax | maiwa dārī | maiwa dārī |
| Fruit tree | de maiwey wana | darakht-e maiwa |
| Fruit | maiwa | maiwa |
| Garden-Orchard | bāgh | bāgh |
| Ghee (clarified butter) | ghwarī | roghan |
| Goat hair | de ūzay waixta | pashm-e buz |
| Goat | ūza | buz |
| Government | hukūmat | hukūmat |
| Grape box (for export and consumption during the cold season) | qoṭey | qoṭī |
| Grape | angūr | angūr |
| Green | shīn | sabz |
| Hair | weyxte | mūī |
| Hashish | majun/mofarah | majun/mofarah |
| Hat | khwaley | kolā |
| Horse | ās | āsp |
| House | kor | khāna |
| (to) Import | wāredawal | wāred kardan |
| Imports | wāredāt | |
| Indian technical foreman | mestarī | mestarī |
| Indigo | nīl | nīl |
| Iron | ayīn | ayīn |
| Irrigation canal | wiyāla | joī |
| Land revenue | mālīa | mālīa |
| Lapis lazuli | lājward | lājward |
| Lease | ejāra | ejāra |
| Load | bār | bār |
| Marijuana | chars | chars |
| Market | bāzār | bāzār |
| Meat | ghwaxa | gosht |
| Melon | khatakey | kharbūza |
| Metal | felez | felez |
| Money changer (and banker) | sarrāf | sarrāf |
| Money | paisa | paisa |
| Monopoly | enḥeṣār | enḥeṣār |
| Mortgage | geraw | geraw |
| Mountain pass | kotal | kotal |
| Mountain skirts/plains | de ghare lamena | dāman |
| Mountain | ghar | koh |
| Mulberry | tūt | tūt |
| Mushroom | samāruq | samāruq |
| Neighbor (and/or dependent when referencing non-Pashtuns economically subordinated to Pashtuns) | hamsāya | hamsāya |
| Occupation | kesb | kesb |
| Official (manager, or supervisor or coordinator) | sareshtadār | |
| Oil | thail | thail |
| Opium | bang | bang |
| Orange | nārenj | nārenj |
| Paper pass | rāhdārī | rāhdārī |
| Peach | shaftalū | shaftalū |
| Pear | nāk | nāk |
| Pepper | mrech | murch |
| Pinenuts | dzalghozī | jalghoza |
| Pistachio | pesta | pesta |
| Plum and Prune | ālū | ālū |
| Pomegranate | anār | anār |
| Price | baia | bahā |
| Prison | bandīkhāna | zendān/bandīkhāna |
| Profit | gaṭa | fāīda |
| Province | welāyat | welāyat |
| Public treasury | khazāna | khazāna |
| Raisin | mamīz | keshmesh |
| Raw (e.g., book-money rupees) | napokh | khām |
| Red | sūr | surkh |
| Rent | kera | kera |
| Residential quarter | maḥala | maḥala |
| Rice | wrīzey | berenj |
| Ritual | rawāj | rawāj |
| Road-Path | lara | rah |
| Roses | gulābuna | gulābhā |
| Saddle | zīn | zīn |
| Saffron | za'farān | za'farān |
| Salt | mālga | namak |
| Saltpetre | nawshāder | nawshāder |
| Season | mosūm | mawsom |
| Secretary | munshī/mirzā | munshī/mirzā |
| Security | amneyat | amneyat |
| Seed | dāna | tokhm |
| Seedless | baidāna | |
| Sheep | pase | gosfand |
| Signature | emzā | emzā |
| Silk | wraixum | abraishum |
| Skin | post | post |
| Spring | pesarley | bahār |
| State formation | dawlat jorawul | dawlat sākhtan |
| State | dawlat | dawlat |
| Straw | khas | kah |
| Sugar | būra | būra/shakar |
| Sugarcane | naishakar | naishakar |
| Summer | dobey | tābestān |
| Tax | māliya | māliya |
| Tea | chāī | chāī |
| Timber | largī | chob |
| Tobacco | tambākū | tambākū |
| Trader (merchant) | sawdāgar | tājer/sawdāgar |
| Transit toll | rāhdārī | rāhdārī |
| Transport | naqlawul | naql dādan |
| Tree | wana | darakht |
| Tumeric | zardchoba | zardchoba |
| Turban | langoṭey | lungī/langota |
| Valley | dara | dara |
| Village | keley | deh |
| Village leader | malek | malek |
| Walnut | chārmaghz | chārmaghz |
| Watermelon | hendwāna | tarbūz |
| Wheat | ghanem | gandum |
| Wine | sharāb | sharāb |
| Winter | zamey | zemestān |
| Wool | pashm | pashm |
| Woolen overcoat/cape | postīn | postīn |
| Woolens | pashmī | pashmī |
| Woven | obedaley | bafta shoda |
| Yellow | zaīr | zard |