Etymology of Pakistan
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The Islamic name Pakistan (English pronunciation: /ˈpækɪstæn/ (
listen) or /pɑːkiˈstɑːn/ (listen); Urdu: پاکستان [paːkɪˈst̪aːn]) means 'Land of (the) Spiritually Pure' in both Urdu and Persian languages. It alludes to the word pāk meaning pure in Persian and Pashto.[1] The suffix ـستان (-stān) is a Persian word meaning the place of, and also recalls the synonymous (and cognate) Sanskrit word sthāna स्थान.[2] Many South-central Asian states and regions end with the element -stan, such as Karakalpakstan, Afghanistan, Sindhustan, Balochistan, Kurdistan, and Turkistan. This -stan is formed from the Iranian root *STA "to stand, stay," and means "place (where one stays), home, country". Iranian peoples have been the main inhabitants of the various land regions of the Ancient Persian Empires now inhabit by the naturalised states for more than 1,500 years. The names are compounds of -stan and the name of the peoples living there. PAKISTAN is exceptionally unique; its naming is a compound of 2 names; which was coined on the 28th of January in 1933 AD as Pakstan by Choudhary Rehmat Ali Khan respectively, a Cambridge University Moslem student and a Pakistan Movement activist, who published it in his paper Now or Never.[3] by using the suffix -istan from Balochistan preceded by the first letters of Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir and Sindh. The name is actually an acronym that stands for the "Thirty million Muslim brethren who live in Pakistan—by which we mean the Five Northern units of India viz: The Punjab, (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sind, and Baluchistan".[4] The letter “ī” that was incorporated to ease pronunciation and elegantly forms the linguistical corrective and a Respective name meaningfully.[5] Most notably interestingly, a word almost identical in form, etymology, and meaning to the Iranian suffix -stan is found in the Polish language, which has a word Stan meaning "State" (in the senses of both Polity and Condition). It can be found in the example of a Polish name for the "United States of America," Stany Zjednoczone Ameryki (literally "States United of America").
Thus, The name Pākistān means “Land of the Pure” in Persian and Urdu Respectively.
References[edit]
- ↑ Raverty, Henry George. A Dictionary of Pashto. Search this book on
- ↑ "Monier-Williams Sanskrit Dictionary". 1872. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ↑ Choudhary Rahmat Ali (28 January 1933). "Now or never: Are we to live or perish for ever?". Columbia University. Retrieved 4 December 2007.
- ↑ Ali, Rahmat. "Rahmat Ali ::Now or Never". The Pakistan National Movement. pp. [Unknown]. Archived from the original on 19 April 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Roderic H. Davidson (1960). "Where is the Middle East?". Foreign Affairs. 38 (4): 665–675. doi:10.2307/20029452. JSTOR 20029452.
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