Etymograph

English

thana

Thana comes from Sanskrit स्थान ‘military outpost’, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *stáHnam ‘the act of standing’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-1‘to stand’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*os1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*stáHnam1‘the act of standing’reconstructed
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEस्थान2sthāna‘military outpost’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1888thana2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Sanskrit स्थान
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English thana
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1888, Rudyard Kipling, Black and White: “To this talk the dacoits agreed, and we had…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-Wiktionary, Sanskrit स्थान‘to stand’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*osWiktionary, Sanskrit स्थानreconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*stáHnamWiktionary, Sanskrit स्थान‘the act of standing’reconstructed
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEस्थानWiktionary, English thanasthāna‘military outpost’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1888thanaWiktionary, English thana. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1888, Rudyard Kipling, Black and White: “To this talk the dacoits agreed, and we had…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand’

state, system, post, stay, rest, stand, distance, stadium, stood, constitution, contest, assistant, consistent, stable, establish, assist, instance, stability, stem, resist, destiny, testimony, instant, destination, static, insist, substance, distant, consist, persistent, stud, prostitution, prostitute, persist, stool, stationary, stale, substitution, distal, attest, 157 more

Today it means

noun A military outpost.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “thana”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Sanskrit स्थान. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- / thana

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