pakistan pak meaning
The name Pakistan literally means land of the pure in Urdu and Persian. It is a play on the word pÄk meaning pure in Persian and Pashto; the suffix -stÄn is a Persian word meaning place of, cognate with the Sanskrit word sthÄna (Devanagari: à¤¸à¥à¤¥à¤¾à¤¨ [stÌªÊ°aËnÉ]).
-istan is a suffix in the Persian language (Farsi), denoting a place. Thus, Pakistan means place of the pure (pak=pure). It does not just refer to geographical areas, as in bimarestan=place of the sick=hospital. The suffix is widespread in Eurasia because of Persian influence (the Mughals of India for example used Farsi).