Taliban
/ˈtælɪbæn/
noun
Origin
Arabic
ṭ-l-b — to seek, to request
Overview
Meaning Now
- A Pashtun Islamist political and military organization that governed parts of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and returned to power in 2021.
- Students of Islamic theology; plural of 'Talib'.
Literal older meaning
students
Language path
Arabic → Pashto → English
Earliest form
طالبان
Earliest period
1994
Journey
The term was adopted by a group of students from religious seminaries (madrasas) in southern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, emerging in the mid-1990s as a reaction to the lawlessness following the Soviet-Afghan War.
Evolution
- Classical Arabic
ṭālib
“seeker, student”
Active participle from the root ṭ-l-b.
- Pashto
ṭālibān
“students”
Plural of ṭālib formed via the Persian/Arabic suffix -ān.
- Modern Era
Taliban
“The specific movement”
Proper noun usage designating the political entity.
Connections
Word parts
ṭālib
root
student
-ān
suffix
plural marker
Related across languages
Persian
ṭāleb
seeker, student
Urdu
ṭālib
student
Explore next
Related to Taliban
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.