Oikonyms in Western, Central, South, and Southeast Asia can be grouped according to various components, reflecting common linguistic and cultural histories.
In the Gangetic plain, the predominant natural features are trees, grass prairies, and bodies of water.
Prominent trees, visible from a long way off, would often serve as landmarks and give their name to places before there was any permanent settlement there.
[8]: 72 [9]: 53–4, 64 At some point, it seems that -aulī became regarded as a distinct morpheme by itself, and apparently used independently as a suffix without being derived from an earlier form.
For example, the names Shamsaulī and Shekhauliyā must have coined after the Muslim conquest to simply mean something like "Shams ud-Dīn's village".
[4]: 25–6 This is a very common place name element; according to Sankalia, many towns and villages may have originally started out as temporary shelters underneath the wide canopy of a banyan tree.
[4]: 2 Means fortress[14] — Chandigarh, Ramgarh According to Whalley, Gaṛhī when used as a prefix probably in most cases originally referred to a village surrounded by a ditch.
[10]: 74 In many cases, the place name element Maū (or mai) may be derived from Sanskrit maryādā, meaning "shore" or "bank".
[4]: 4–6 Means city, land, country, village;[6] from Sanskrit नगर (nagara) — e.g. Ahmednagar, Biratnagar.
[4]: 2 The Sanskrit term padra denoted a roadside village or residence (related to pad, meaning "foot").
Similar names like Saḍodarā and Raṇodarā probably share the same origin, although their older forms are not directly attested.
In some cases it refers to a share of land held in joint tenure by a pattidar (literally "shareholder").
[4]: 27 literally "lump" or a small altar of sand[6] The pīpal tree, Ficus religiosa, is a common place name element.
[4]: 26–7 Means village, town, state, country;[6] from Sanskrit पुर (pura) — e.g. Jamalpur; Kanpur; Khanpur.
[16] 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.
[9]: 66–7 In Maharasthra, the term vāḍā refers to a built-up area, with or without an enclosure, belonging to a private citizen.
[4]: 25, 29, 60 (آباد): - -abad is a Persian "dwelling of" or "town of", combined with a person's or group's name (usually the founder or primary inhabitant(s))[6][18] — e.g. Hyderabad; Islamabad; Mirza Abad; Ashgabat; Leninabad; Vagharshapat; Sardarabad; Sardarapat .
In historical South Asian revenue terminology, Ihtimali referred to flood-prone lands along river banks or in low-lying areas.
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.
[23] Means "neighborhood" (wikt:کوی) — e.g. Kordkuy; see All pages with titles containing kuy (in various languages) shrine, grave, tomb, etc.
: Mazar-i-Sharif; see All pages with titles containing Mazar 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.
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.
For example, Daryaganj, Sunamganj Refers to a granted habitat, also sanctuary from the Persian suffix, bastī[27]— e.g. Basti Maluk, Azam Basti wikt:نهر, river, e.g., Nahr-e Mian; see All pages with titles containing Nahr-e Means (irrigation) canal[6] Means "tent"[28] — e.g. Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan Examples: Darabgerd, Dastagird, Dastjerd, Khosrowjerd, Farhadgerd, Stepanakert, Tigranakert Means "a place abounding in...", "place of..."[29] — e.g. Afghanistan; Pakistan