Where does “Hindustan” come from?
Hindustan comes from Persian هندوستان, combining Persian ـستان (a suffix meaning "land of") with Middle Persian hndwk', which derives from Sanskrit सिन्धु referring to the Sindhu River, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European steh₂- meaning "to stand."
Ancestry of “Hindustan”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Persian | هندوستان | India |
| 2 | Persian | ـستان | -istan, -estan, -stan |
| 3 | Middle Persian | -stʾn' | makes nouns of places; of indeterminate function |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | stáHnam | the act of standing; position, location, place |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | stéh₂-no-m | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | steh₂- | to stand |