Yusufzai

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A large Pashtun tribal group living mainly in the Swat valley and surrounding areas of northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan
2. An ethnic community of ethnic Pashtuns whose homeland lies in the hills and valleys of northwestern Pakistan and nearby Afghan regions
3. A major clan within the Pashtun people, traditionally settled in the mountainous districts of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and adjoining Afghanistan

Etymology: Yusufzai is the name of a major Pashtun tribe, and it is named after a person: the tribe traces its descent to Yusuf, a figure the tribe's genealogies place among the forefathers of the Pashtuns. The name is a compound of "Yusuf," the Arabic and Persian form of Joseph, and the Persian suffix "-zai," meaning "son of" or "descendants of." So the word literally means "sons of Yusuf," and the same pattern appears in other Pashtun tribal names such as Mohmand and Khattak, which are also built on ancestral names with "-zai." The tribe is historically centred in the Swat and Buner valleys and the surrounding hills of what is now northwestern Pakistan, with settlements extending into Afghanistan. Its members have long been prominent in the region's politics and military life, and the name is often used as an adjective for things associated with the tribe, such as its territory or customs.