ܕܰܣܬܳܢܳܐ dstnʾ dastānā 1. a way of dancing; 2. portion
Allotrope: ܕܝܣܬܢ dystn
According to LS and Lagarde, the word is a rendering of NP dastān history, romance, fable; song, melody (Steingass 522). — Talm. Aram. dstnʾ part, portion (← NP dastān, Telegdi 240, 54; Fleischer apud Levy 1924, I 43b). As far as the semantic aspect is concerned, it is highly probable that NP dastān was in origin a metrical term, indicating a measure of length in versification, and that it is a derivative of Pers. dast hand. The metaphorical usage of names of body parts in metrics and music is common in various languages, from Ancient Greek (e.g. δάκτυλος, πούς, etc.) to modern European languages. Jean During (Encycl. Iranica VII 102, s.v. dastān) explains that the term, in Persian music, is used with three different meanings, namely melody, a genre of narrative composition, and fingering system: “In early Arabic and Persian musical theory dastān designated either the fingering of the lute or the ligatures and thus also the modal scale corresponding to the positions of the fingers on the frets” ● dstnʾ a way of dancing BA 3192; BB 585, 8; portion BB 2003, 11; dystn Van Rompay 1986, 117.26 (ed.), 151.19 (transl.) ◆ LS 161a; Lagarde GA 33, 82; Maggi 2003, 116