# What does \*istan\* mean?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-istan-mean/86792>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 11, 2001, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-istan-mean/86792 "2001-10-11T13:50:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-istan-mean/86792/1 "2001-10-11T13:50:59Z")

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Y’know, Afganistan, Pakistan, Istanbul, etc.

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**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-istan-mean/86792/2 "2001-10-11T13:54:57Z")

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Search for ‘stan’, ‘istan’. I believe it’s “home of”.

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**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-istan-mean/86792/3 "2001-10-11T13:56:04Z")

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I just heard this reported on NPR the other day…

Actually it is what _stan_ means (not _ **i** stan_).

_Stan_ means ‘land of’ so Afghanistan means Land of Afghan. Uzbekistan means Land of Uzbek (and so on). However, I don’t know if the ‘Istan’ in Istanbul follows the same rule or has some other meaning.

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**Author:** ![FriendRob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecc23a/32.png) [@FriendRob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriendRob)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-istan-mean/86792/4 "2001-10-11T14:14:46Z")

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OK, but in what language? And why do so many countries use the same ending when they all have different languages? Or is it only in English that all these countries end in “stan”? (Couldn’t find the link mentioned - anyone else find it?)

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**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-istan-mean/86792/5 "2001-10-11T14:20:27Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Mr. Duality \*  
> \*\*Search for ‘stan’, ‘istan’. I believe it’s “home of”. \*\*

For the record, I did a search before posting but found nothing.

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-istan-mean/86792/6 "2001-10-11T14:31:30Z")

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Since this has been discussed so recently, I’ll close this thread and direct any remaining comments on the subject to the earlier thread, [What does -istan mean?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=88975)

bibliophage  
moderator GQ