Word-loans, and the evolution of language is always so interesting… they give a glimpse into the way that we think that isn’t always so readily seen from everyday life (kind of like using a hex editor to hack into your favorite program, to see what you can find hidden in there). According to Brad Delong,
“Paradise” is derived from the Old Persian word for the wall around an enclosed, irrigated garden. Xenophon mistook the word for the enclosing wall for the word for the garden-park itself, and here we are.