Oikonyms in Western, Central, South, and Southeast Asia can be grouped according to various components, reflecting common linguistic and cultural histories.^[1] Toponymic study is not as extensive as it is for placenames in Europe and Anglophone parts of the world, but the origins of many placenames can be determined with a fair degree of certainty.^[2][3] One complexity to the study when discussing it in English is that the Romanization of names, during British rule and otherwise, from other languages has not been consistent.^[2]

Common affixes

Common affixes used in South Asian oikonyms can be grouped based on their linguistic origin: (with examples from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and elsewhere such as in Sanskrit-influenced Indonesia):

• Dravidian:

  wal, wali, wala, warree, vli, vadi, vali, pady and palli

  hamlet^[4] — e.g. Dombivli; Kasan Wala; Sandhilianwali

• Kot

  fort^[5][4] — Pathankot; Sialkot

  Patnam, patham, pattana

  "city", or "city of"^[6] — e.g. Visakhapatnam'

• Indo-Aryan:

  Alay

  Abode; from Sanskrit ā-laya. e.g. Meghalaya, Lokā-laya (settlement).

  Desh

  village, land, country; from Sanskrit देश (desa) for "country"^[7][8] — e.g. Bangladesh. In Indonesia it becomes Desa which is another Indonesian word for "village".

  Nagar

  city, land, country, village;^[5] from Sanskrit नगर (nagara) — e.g. Ahmednagar. In Indonesian, the word Negara means "country" and the word Nagari is a term used in West Sumatra referring to "village".

  Pur

  village, town, state, country;^[5] from Sanskrit पुर (pura) — e.g. Jamalpur; Kanpur; Khanpur; Janakpur, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur. In Southeast Asian countries, it is known as pura, e.g. Singapura, and Indonesian cities such as Jayapura, Siak Sri Indrapura, Amlapura, Sangkapura, Semarapura, etc. In Indonesia, pura also refers to a Hindu temple.^[9]

  Pind

  literally "lump" or a small altar of sand^[5]

  Garh

  fortress^[10] — Chandigarh

• Persian or Arabic:

  Abad (آباد)

  "dwelling of" or "town of", combined with a person's or group's name (usually the founder or primary inhabitant(s))^[5][11] — e.g. Ahmedabad; Ordubad; Shirabad; Islamabad; Khorramabad; Mirza Abad. Being a generic and an ambiguous term referring to small isolated farms, village (but not city) on one hand, and towns and cities, on the other hand.^[12][13][14] See also abadi (settlement).

  Bandar

  port (wikt:بندر) — e.g. Bandar Abbas; see All pages with titles containing Bandar

  Dasht

  field, desert (wikt:دشت) — e.g. Hulandasht; see All pages with titles containing dasht

  Kuy

  neighborhood (wikt:کوی) — e.g. Kordkuy; see All pages with titles containing kuy

  Mazar

  (in various languages) shrine, grave, tomb, etc. (from wikt:مزار), cf. "Mazar (mausoleum)". The placename usually refers to a grave of a saint, ruler, etc.: Mazar-i-Sharif; see All pages with titles containing Mazar

  Mazra or Majra

  hamlet,^[15] also "farm" (wikt:مزرعة, /maz.ra.ʕa/), "field" (wikt:مزرع, /maz.raʕ/)

  Shahr, shehr

  city^[5] — e.g. Bulandshahr

  Kale, Kaleh, Qala, Qalat, Qila

  fort, fortres, castle;^[5] see also "Qalat (fortress)"

  Ganj, gunj, gunge

  Persian-Urdu, taken to mean neighborhood in Indian context.

  Basti

  a granted habitat, also sanctuary from the Persian suffix, bastī^[16]— e.g. Basti Maluk, Azam Basti,

  Nahri

  (irrigation) canal^[5]

  Nahr

  wikt:نهر, river, e.g., Nahr-e Mian; see All pages with titles containing Nahr-e

  Dera

  tent^[17] — e.g. Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan

  -Stan, Estan

  "a place abounding in...", "place of..."^[18] — e.g. Afghanistan; Pakistan

See also

• Glossary of Arabic toponyms
• Place names in India, for a more in-depth explanation of various place names in India.

References

Sources

Further reading