• Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyz
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    7 hours ago

    The suffix -(i)s(e)tan in Classical Persian and descendants means roughly “place of $noun”. While you see it often being attached to human groups, that isn’t the only way to use it. Like,

    • flower garden: ⟨بستان⟩ bostân = place of fragrance[s]
    • hospital: ⟨بیمارستان⟩ bimârestân = place of [the] ill
    • summer: ⟨تابستان⟩ tâbestân = place of heat
    • rural district: ⟨دهستان⟩ dehestân = place of village[s]
    • etc.

    So you could theoretically name some place after the local fauna with -stan.

    It helps if you remember that suffix is cognate to “stand”, “status” (see status quo), “stay”.