بیستون

Persian

Etymology

Inherited from Old Persian *Bagastāna⁠, from 𐏎 (BG /⁠bagaʰ⁠⁠/, “god”) + 𐎿𐎫𐎠𐎴 (s-t-a-n /⁠stāna⁠⁠/, “place”).

By folk etymology, بی (bi, “without, -less”) +‎ ستون (sotun, “pillar”), referring to its ancient reliefs which are carved directly into the rock without pillars.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [biːs.ˈtuːn], [biː.su.ˈtuːn]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [biː.so.t̪ʰúːn]

Readings
Classical reading?	bīstūn, bīsutūn
Iranian reading?	bisotun

Proper noun

بیستون • (bisotun)

1. Bisotun (a city in Iran) (known for the Behistun inscription and associated with the legendary lover-architect Farhad)

Further reading

• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892) “بیستون”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary, London: Routledge & K. Paul