Word Meaning
अफ़्ग़ाँ
afghāñ
Meaning
Wailing, lamentation, or a loud cry of distress and grief.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Persian and Urdu poetry, 'afghāñ' refers to an agonizing outcry, lament, or weeping born of deep sorrow. In this couplet, it forms part of the standard hendiadys 'nāla-o-afghāñ' (lament and wailing), expressing the speaker's plea that his cries of heartbreak carry genuine power and impact. Despite homophony with the ethnonym Afghan, here it is purely a noun of lamentation derived from Persian.
Etymology
Persian (afghān, meaning wailing, crying out, or lamentation).
Usage
In the ghazal, it is most frequently paired in the compound 'nāla-o-afghāñ' to evoke the desperate acoustic manifestation of love's affliction.
Examples
nala-o-afghan-e-dil (the lament and wail of the heart)
karna tha unheñ shor-e-afghan se aagah (to make them aware through the clamour of cries)