A Dictionary of the Pukhto

In compiling this Dictionary of the Pukkhto or Pukshto Language (Pukkhto-English and English-Pukkhto), I have experienced considerable difficulty in deciding upon the words of foreign origin—principally Arabic and Persian, but still of common use in the Pukkhto—that should find a place in these pages. As a rule, words of the Arabic and Persian that are used in an unlatered form in the Pukkhto have been omitted, excepting only those of very common or general use; for to have given place to all the words of those languages used in an unchanged form by Pukkhtun authors, would have added unnecessarily to the bulk of the work without, in return, being of any practical utility in the study of the language, since their use is almost solely confined to literary works or to discussions on theological subjects. Of the words purely Pukkhto, the most, it will be observed, are derived from the Persian, from which country, indeed the Afghans appear to have derived most of their literature. In most instances I have endeavoured to point out their sources in those languages, by quoting in brackets with each word the original form from which it may be derived, with a preceding capital letter for the initial of the language to which each belongs.