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, wara, wada, warree, vli, vadi, vali, pady and palli Means
hamlet — e.g.
Dombivli;
Kasan Wala;
Sandhilianwali;
Gujranwala;
Chhindwara;
Tiruchirappalli;
Saraipali Kot Means "fort" —
Pathankot;
Sialkot Patnam, patham, pattana Means "city", or "city of" — e.g.
Visakhapatnam'
Indo-Aryan Alay Means "abode"; from Sanskrit ā-laya. e.g.
Meghalaya,
Himalaya, Lokā-laya (settlement).
-aulī, -olī These suffixes are very common, especially
-aulī. In many cases, they are probably derived from Sanskrit
palli, referring to a hamlet or small village. For example,
Bārḍolī in Gujarat is attested in a
Rashtrakuta-era inscription as
Vāraḍapallikā. Names with these suffixes may also come from Sanskrit
valli, meaning "section" or "part"; either origin is plausible. Whalley, on the other hand, preferred a derivation from Persian
chak, noting that "Chak" is frequently followed by a Muslim name.
Desh Means village, land, country; from Sanskrit देश (desa) for "
space" — e.g.
Bangladesh. In
Indonesia it becomes
Desa which is another
Indonesian word for "village".
-ehrā In many cases, this ending is probably a "worn-down" descendant of earlier
-kheṛa ("village").
Nagar Means city, land, country, village; from Sanskrit नगर (nagara) — e.g.
Ahmednagar,
Biratnagar. In
Indonesian, the word
Negara means "
country" and the word
Nagari is a term used in
West Sumatra referring to "village". Also used in
Borneo island, e.g.
Negara Brunei Darussalam Many modern names using
nagar in full are relatively recent origin; older names with
nagar have often been shortened to
nār or
ner. At least in northern India,
nagar is not used as a prefix. Instead, the forms
Naglā or, more rarely,
Nagrā, are used. About 100 places also have the feminine forms
Nagariyā and
Nagariyā.
Paṭṭī From Hindi
paṭṭī, meaning "strip", itself derived from Sanskrit
paṭṭikā. As a place name element, it is used in the sense of "a strip of land". In some cases it refers to a share of land held in joint tenure by a
pattidar (literally "shareholder").
Pilkhu, Pilkhan, Pākaṛ, Pākhaṛ These are all names for the
pilkhan tree, one of several varieties of fig tree viewed as sacred in Hinduism. The forms
pilkhu and
pilkhan come from Sanskrit
plakṣā, while
pākaṛ and
pākhaṛ come from Sanskrit
#Sanskrit parkaṭī. One place with this name is
Pilkhuwā. In ancient times, the word
pura strictly referred to a fort, but its meaning was gradually broadened to include any town regardless of its particular function. By the early medieval period,
pura was often used to denote a commercial centre – especially in southern India, where the typical form was
puram. In many cases, old names originally ending in
-pura have become shortened to
-or over the centuries. In the case of
Mangrol (originally
Maṅgalapura), the suffix has become
-rol instead. See also
abadi (settlement).
Bandar Means "port" (
wikt:بندر) — e.g.
Bandar Abbas; see
Dasht Means field, desert (
wikt:دشت) — e.g.
Hulandasht; see
Ihtimalī and Ghair Ihtimalī From Perso-Arabic
iḥtimāl, meaning "probability". In historical South Asian revenue terminology,
Ihtimali referred to flood-prone lands along river banks or in low-lying areas.
Ghair Ihtimali meant the opposite, i.e. not liable to flooding during the rainy season. These were used in place names to distinguish two villages with the same name, such as
Todarpur Ihtimali and
Todarpur Ghair Ihtimali in present-day Aligarh district, India.
Khās From Arabic
khāṣṣ, meaning "selected" or "private". In India, it was historically used to refer to a place managed directly by the government or by a
jagirdar, without any intermediaries. For example, Jamal Mohd Siddiqi identifies six places with "
khās" in their name in present-day
Aligarh district, India. All six were founded by Rajput chiefs during the Mughal period, and they all occupy a prominent position on high ground.
Khās is also sometimes used in cases where there are two villages with the same name; in this case,
khās is affixed to the older and/or larger one.
Kuy Means "neighborhood" (
wikt:کوی) — e.g.
Kordkuy; see
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
Mazra or Majra Derived from Arabic
mazraʕ, which originally refers to a farm field. In parts of India, though, the term refers to a hamlet or cluster of houses that is separate from, but subordinate to, a larger village. (The reason for the hamlet's separation is so that farmers can be closer to their crops.) Places with
Majra in their name typically originated in this manner and later became independent villages of their own.
Milk Derived from Arabic
milk, meaning "possession" or "property". Like
chak, it was historically used to designate a rent-free piece of land.
Milk in particular usually designated land held by Muslim zamindars.
Munzabtah Derived from Perso-Arabic
munzabt, meaning "confiscated". For example, the village of
Raipur Munzabtah in Aligarh district got its name because it was confiscated by the British government after its
pattidar participated in the
Indian Rebellion of 1857.
Mutafarriqat From Arabic
mutafarriqāt, literally meaning "miscellaneous". This was used historically to denote a fiscal or administrative unit consisting of various scattered pieces of land. Villages called "mutafarriqat" are so named because they belonged to such a unit.
Nisfi Derived from Arabic
niṣf, meaning "half". For example, the village of
Marhauli Nisfi Ashrafabad in present-day Aligarh district was formed by taking out a half portion from Ashrafabad.
Raiyyat From Perso-Arabic ''ra'iyyat'', meaning "subjects, peasants, cultivators". It is used, for example, in the name of
Lalpur Raiyyatpur in present-day Aligarh district, which likely originated as a settlement of peasants under the zamindar of nearby
Lalpur.
Shahr, shehr Means "city" — e.g.
Bulandshahr ====
Kale,
Kaleh,
Qala,
Qalat,
Qila==== Means fort, fortress, castle; see also "
Qal'a" — e.g.
Makhachkala,
Akhalkalaki,
Solzha-Ghala,
Dzaudzhikau Ganj, gunj, gunge Persian-Urdu, taken to mean neighborhood in Indian context. For example,
Daryaganj,
Sunamganj Basti Refers to a granted habitat, also sanctuary from the Persian suffix,
bastī— e.g. Basti Maluk,
Azam Basti Nahr wikt:نهر, river, e.g.,
Nahr-e Mian; see
Nahri Means (irrigation) canal
Dera Means "tent" — e.g.
Dera Ghazi Khan,
Dera Ismail Khan -gerd/-kert Examples:
Darabgerd,
Dastagird,
Dastjerd,
Khosrowjerd,
Farhadgerd,
Stepanakert,
Tigranakert -Stan, Estan Means "a place abounding in...", "place of..." — e.g.
Afghanistan;
Pakistan ==See also==