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Ta·li·ban

(tălə-băn′)

n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)

A fundamentalist Muslim group of Afghanistan and western Pakistan, known for its military and paramilitary activities.

[Pashto tālibān, pl. of tālib, student, from Persian, from Arabic, seeker, student, from ṭalaba, to seek; see ṭlb in the Appendix of Semitic roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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