"Stan" is a Persian suffix which  is the shortened vetsion of the word "Ostan". "Ostan" literally means "State" in Persian. So Afghanistan means "state of Afghans". Ostan and state sound the same because both Persian and English are Indo-european languages.,(reply>), The Persian word for Stand is "Istadan" which comes from the word "Ist". "Ist" , "Stop", and "Stand" they all have the same root.,(reply>), "Stand" is also derived from the same root, meaning "an established position".<br><br>Standard and State is essentially the same word with differing flavors.