Stan

The word stan is a suffix meaning "Home of" that is used in the names of many countries. For example, "Turkmenistan" would be "the home of the Turks."

Countries that end in "stan":

• Pakistan
• Afghanistan
• Turkmenistan
• Uzbekistan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Tajikistan
• Kazakhstan

Other "stans":

• Khalistan (proposed Sikh homeland)
• Kurdistan (proposed Kurdish homeland)
• Bashkortostan[?] (Russian region)
• Dagestan[?] (Russian region)
• Tatarstan (Russian region)
• Turkestan

The suffix is often mocked for its over-use, and has led to many parodies, such as the film Lost in Absurdistan[?] or Pat Buchanan's nickname for Canada; Soviet Canuckistan.