Where does “ـِسْتَان” come from?
ـِسْتَان (Classical Persian) comes from Middle Persian -stʾn', from Old Persian 𐎿𐎫𐎠𐎴, from Proto-Iranian stā́nam, from Proto-Indo-Iranian stʰáHnam, from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-.
Ancestry of “ـِسْتَان”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle Persian | -stʾn' | makes nouns of places; of indeterminate function |
| 2 | Old Persian | 𐎿𐎫𐎠𐎴 | place |
| 3 | Proto-Iranian | stā́nam | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | stʰáHnam | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | *steh₂- | — |