# What is the etymology of ''-abad'' and ''-grad?'' **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 24, 2004, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-etymology-of-abad-and-grad/261188 "2004-08-24T00:54:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-etymology-of-abad-and-grad/261188/1 "2004-08-24T00:54:23Z")
And do they have any cognates? “-abad” appears in several place names in Pakistan. And “-grad” is a common suffix in Slavic countries. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-etymology-of-abad-and-grad/261188/2 "2004-08-24T01:00:41Z")
I have fears that my 18-year-old TV has bitten the dust. But here’s what’s strange: The picture tube appears to still function, although I can’t get any of the local broadcast channels clear enough to watch them. Way too much static. What’s strange, though, is that I can hook up my cable directly to the TV, and I get nothing. No signal at all. I can hook up the VCR directly to the TV and play a tape–nothing. I can run the TV input thru A/V wires instead of the coax–still nothing. I’ve been doing this sort of thing a loooooong time, and have a pretty good idea of how to hook up things so that I get what I need; however, just to be sure, I took out the manuals, and step-by-step went thru the procedures as documented, just in case I was overlooking something. Nothing. Maybe I’m just in denial, but I’m not willing to let go of the possibility that I’ve hooked up something incorrectly, which leads to the GQ: Is it possible for something to go cuckoo so that the TV doesn’t receive input from either the coax or A/V inputs? The unit, other than that, appears to be working. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-etymology-of-abad-and-grad/261188/3 "2004-08-24T01:11:22Z")
> [@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker](#): > > And do they have any cognates? > > “-abad” appears in several place names in Pakistan. And “-grad” is a common suffix in Slavic countries. “Grad” means “town” in many Slavic languages. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-etymology-of-abad-and-grad/261188/4 "2004-08-24T01:15:53Z")
Found a little more info: “-abad” is from Farsi, and means “populated” or “settled.” “Grad” can also mean castle or city in various Slavic languages. It’s a similar ending to the German “-burg.” ---
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-etymology-of-abad-and-grad/261188/5 "2004-08-24T01:21:16Z")
> [@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker](#): > > “-abad” appears in several place names in Pakistan. This [page](http://www.unesco.org/most/p2vidal.htm) says > [@](#): > > The Persian _abad karna_ (to cultivate, to settle) is the origin of _abadi_ (small settlement, population) and of the suffix — _abad_ — attached to the name of the town’s founder. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-etymology-of-abad-and-grad/261188/6 "2004-08-24T01:23:21Z")
**Pulykamell** beat me to it. I should note that the Russian for “city” is _gorod_ and _-grad_ as a city-name ending is based on the early Slavic from which Russian is descended, much like -bury and -boro are derived from Anglo-Saxon _burh_ which survives as English _borough_. French _-ville_ has a similar sense, as of course does German _-burg_ (but _-berg_, with almost identical English pronunciation, is different, meaning literally “mountain” and with the city-name connotation of “city that was founded as a fortified high spot”). Cognates to -bury and -burg exist in the Scandinavian languages as well. BTW, note that the -abad suffix, with pretty much the same meaning, also exists in several of the Central Asian republics. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-etymology-of-abad-and-grad/261188/7 "2004-08-24T06:05:20Z")
Similar to the Greek _-polis_, as used in Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Metropolis, … and no doubt many more city names. ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-etymology-of-abad-and-grad/261188/8 "2004-08-24T06:29:32Z")
_abad_ is pretty similar to the English _abide_, isn’t it? The OED says the root of abide is the Old English _abiden_. Interesting stuff, though any connection would be unprovable… ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-etymology-of-abad-and-grad/261188/9 "2004-08-24T10:23:21Z")
> [@Atticus Finch](#): > > _abad_ is pretty similar to the English _abide_, isn’t it? The OED says the root of abide is the Old English _abiden_. Interesting stuff, though any connection would be unprovable… And even more similar to the English _abode_, in terms of pronounciation. A common root probably isn’t unprovable, due to Farsi/Urdu and English having the same root language family. ---
**Author:** ![malden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@malden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malden)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-etymology-of-abad-and-grad/261188/10 "2004-08-24T14:57:22Z")
Interestingly, the -abad and -grad suffixes came together, in a sense, in the old Soviet Union. We all know about Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, but there were towns named “Leninabad” in the Soviet Republics (now independent states) of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. [http://www.calle.com/world/UZ/6/Leninabad.html](http://www.calle.com/world/UZ/6/Leninabad.html) [http://www.calle.com/world/TI/0/Leninabad.html](http://www.calle.com/world/TI/0/Leninabad.html) Also: Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, was once known as Stalinabad. :eek: