Pakistan

Type Country
Usage Urdu, Punjabi, English, Italian, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Slovak, Russian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian
Scripts پاکستان(Urdu, Shahmukhi) Пакистан(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian)
Pronounced Pron. PAK-i-stan(English) pahk-i-STAHN(English) pa-KEE-stan(Polish) pə-kyi-STAN(Russian)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

From Persian پاک (pak) meaning "pure" and the suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of". The name was coined in 1933 by the Pakistani nationalist Choudhry Rahmat Ali who justified it as an acronym of Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir and Sindh, plus the final three letters of Baluchistan.

Related Names

Other Languages & CulturesPákistán(Czech) Pakestan(Persian) Paquistão(Portuguese) Pakistán(Spanish)
Same SpellingPákistán, Pakistán
User SubmissionPäkistan

Categories

Asia, ends in -stan, former British colonies, Islamic countries
Entry updated April 23, 2024