The derived suffix -standar (or ostandar) was used for administrative titles of -stan governors in Iran when the country was led by the Sasanian dynasty.[4][5]
Etymology and cognates
The suffix -stan is analogous to the suffix -land, present in many country and location names. The suffix is also used more generally, as in Persian rigestân (ریگستان) "place of sand, desert", golestân (گلستان) "place of flowers, garden", gurestân (گورستان) "graveyard, cemetery",[6]Hindustân (هندوستان) "Land of the Indus".[7]
Originally an independent noun, this morpheme evolved into a suffix by virtue of appearing frequently as the last part in nominal compounds. It is of Indo-Iranian and ultimately Indo-European origin. It is cognate with the English word state, Polish stan (state), and with Sanskritsthā́na (Devanagari: Sanskrit: स्थान[stʰaːnɐ]), meaning "the act of standing", from which many further meanings derive, including "place, location; abode, dwelling", and ultimately descends from Proto-Indo-Iranian*sthāna-,[8] partly loaned into Ancient GreekasAncient Greek: -στήνη (-stēnē).
In their native languages, the countries endonyms would be,
- افغانستان (Afghānistān)
- Қазақстан (Qazaqstan)
- Кыргызстан (Kyrgyzstan)
- پاکستان (Pākistān)
- Тоҷикистон (Tojikiston)
- Türkmenistan
- Ўзбекистон (O'zbekiston)
Some of these nations were also known with the Latinate suffix -ia during their time as Soviet republics: Turkmenistan was frequently Turkmenia, Kyrgyzstan often Kirghizia, and even Uzbekistan was very rarely Uzbekia.[9][10] In addition, the native name of ArmeniaisHayastan, hay being the endonym of Armenians.
The following list shows some examples of some second-level, third-level, and fourth-level subdivisions inside different countries that have their names ending in a -stan-like suffix.
Kadagistan – Kadagistan was the name of an eastern Sasanian province in the region of Tokharistan (in what is now north-eastern Afghanistan).
Kafiristan (land of the infidels) – historic region in Afghanistan until 1896, now known as Nuristan. A similarly named region exists in north Pakistan.
Turkestan or Turkistan – ethnolinguistic region of Turkic peoples and languages, encompassing Central Asia, northwest China, parts of the Caucasus, and Asia Minor
Azmanastan (or Uzmenistan) – a fictional country and region in the film The Expendables 3.
Backhairistan- the fictional homeland of Bolbi Stroganovsky, a character from the cartoon series Jimmy Neutron
Bananastan – A fictional country from the Popeye the Sailor comic book series, which was ruled by Saddam Shahame, a parody of Saddam Hussein, an Iraqi dictator.
Istan – a fictional island state in the online role-playing game, Guild Wars Nightfall.
Jazeristan – fictional country in the movie The Misfits.
Kamistan (Islamic Republic of) – a fictional Middle Eastern country featured in the television series 24.
Kazanistan – an ideal state imagined by John RawlsinThe Law of Peoples, in which there is a system of law, legal representation for all groups, and a respect for basic human rights, but not full democracy.
Kehjistan – the state of the eastern jungles in the game Diablo II.
Kekistan – a fictional country created by 4chan members that has become a political meme and online movement.
Kerakhistan – a fictional Middle Eastern country featured in the tabletop miniature wargame Battlefield Evolution.
Autistan – the "metaphorical country" of the autistic people
Bailoutistan (or Bailoutistan 2.0) - sarcastic term for Greece following the European Union bail out packages, coined by Yanis Varoufakis in his book 'Adults in the Room: My Battle With the European and American Deep Establishment'
Bimaristan – a kind of hospital in medieval Persia and the medieval Islamic world
Bradistan – a moniker for Bradford, England, owing to its large population of Pakistani worker migrants
Canuckistan (full name being The People's Republic of Soviet Canuckistan) – epithet for Canada, used by Pat Buchanan on 31 October 2002, on his television show on MSNBC in which he denounced Canadians as anti-American and the country as a haven for terrorists. He was reacting to Canadian criticisms of US security measures regarding Arab Canadians[17]
Cavaquistan (CavaquistãoinPortuguese) – a name coined after the former Portuguese President and Prime-Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva, referring to the regions of Portugal where he achieved landslide victories in the elections held in the late 1980s and early 1990s (especially in the Viseu District[18]); intended pun with Kazakhstan (Cazaquistão in Portuguese[19])
Hookturnistan – satirical name of Melbourne, Victoria, due to the large number of hook turns on city roads
Hamastan – a concept of a Palestinian Islamic government with Sharia as law
Iranistan – a pseudo-orientalist mansion built for P. T. Barnum in 1848 in Connecticut
Islamistan – means 'Land of Islam', used in various contexts
Londonistan – French counter-terrorism agents gave the British/English capital of London this sobriquet. Sometimes used derogatorily to refer to the large immigrant, especially Muslim, population in London.
Muristan – a complex of streets and shops in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem
The New Yorkistan map itself included various districts ending in -stan, e.g., Bronxistan, Cold Turkeystan, Fuhgeddabouditstan, Gaymenistan, Taxistan, Youdontunderstandistan, etc.
Orbánistan – a derogatory term for Hungary under the rule of Viktor Orbán[22]
Paganistan – the pagan/neo-pagan community of Minneapolis-Saint Paul in Minnesota[23]
^Hayyim, Sulayman (1892), "ستان", New Persian-English Dictionary, vol. 2, Tehran: Librairie imprimerie Béroukhim, p. 30, archived from the original on 28 October 2020, retrieved 25 October 2020 Quote= ستان (p. V2-0030) ستان (۲) Suffix meaning 'a place abounding in'. Ex. گلستان a flower or rose-garden. Syn. زار See گازار Note. This suffix is pronounced stan or setan after a vowel, as in بوستان boostan, a garden, and هندوستان hendoostan, India; and estan after a consonant. Ex. گلستان golestan, and ترکستان torkestan. However, for poetic license, after a consonant also, it may be pronounced setan. Ex. گلستان golsetan
^Steingass, Francis Joseph, "ستان", A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary, p. 655, archived from the original on 28 October 2020, retrieved 25 October 2020, stān (after a vowel), istān (after a consonant), Place where anything abounds, as ḵẖurmāstān, A palm-grove, gulistān, A flower-garden, &c.
^"Lojbnaistan". lojban wiki. 4 November 2013. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
^Cowan, John Waldemar (1997). "1". The Complete Lojban Language (First ed.). Fairfax, VA, US: The Logical Language Group. p. 3. ISBN0-9660283-0-9. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
^"The Ruler of Orbánistan". Aspen Institute Central Europe (in Czech). Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
^Pizza, Murphy (2009). "Schism as midwife: how conflict aided the birth of a contemporary Pagan community". In Lewis, James R.; Lewis, Sarah M. (eds.). Sacred schisms: how religions divide(PDF). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 249–261. ISBN978-0-511-58071-0. Archived from the original(PDF) on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011. [...] the Pagan community of the Minnesota Twin Cities, otherwise known by members as 'Paganistan.'
افغانستان (Afghānistān)
Қазақстан (Qazaqstan)
Кыргызстан (Kyrgyzstan)
پاکستان (Pākistān)
Тоҷикистон (Tojikiston)
Türkmenistan
Ўзбекистон (O'zbekiston)
Armenia
Bulgaria
China
Croatia
England
Ethiopian Empire
Georgia
Greece
Hungary
India
Mongolia
Poland
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
The dictionary definition of -stan at Wiktionary
