I do not know anything of its etymology, but "STHAN" in colloquial Hindi
means 'place', and "REGISTAN" in Hindustani/Urdu means 'desert'.
On Wednesday, September 12, 2001, at 07:45 am, cybalist@yahoogroups.com
wrote:
> I also note what looks like a desert named 'Rigestan'. This looks a
> lot like a cognate of 'Rajasthan', both meaning 'stan of the king'.
> What does the suffix '-stan' mean? Land? Nation?