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Настаивать на травах means to make a herb cordial. Direct meaning of "настоян на травах" can only be applied to liquids, specifically - to cordials, strong alcoholic beverages brewed with herbs, fruits, berries etc. What we see here is a typical figurative meaning: it means that the air is so full of herbs scent that it smells like a strong herb cordial.

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Note that "травы" (plural) in Russian is not only "grasses," it's also "herbs."

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So "настоян на травах" is a set construction in Russian that means "so full of herbs scent that it smells like a strong herb cordial"?

What about "настоян" and "настоян на"?

Can you give examples of how these are used and what they would mean in English?

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no, it doesn't mean that in most contexts, but in the sentence you quoted the explanation given by wolk_off is correct. Literally, again, as wolk_off explained, настаивать на травах means to make a herbal infusion, a cordial. When you do that with some aromatic substance, the liquid you get would smell of that substance. Like, for example, you can have vodka with herbs, etc. When it is said about air, the meaning here is metaphorical.

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The literal meaning of the set construction "настоян на травах" is "to make a herbal infusion, a cordial"?

The metaphorical, the figurative meaning, of this set construction is "so full of herbs scent that it smells like a strong herb cordial"?

What other examples do you know with either "настоян...." or "настоян на...."?

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Here - http://www.farmaco.ru/aa5.html - you can find some recipes of настойки_, things you get after alcohol настоян на травах, на ягодах, etc.
Most examples of this expression coming into my head right now are about alcohol, like, В их семье из поколения в поколение передавался рецепт водки, настоянной на рябине.
Or,Мой дедушка делал самогон, настоянный на апельсиновых корках.

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"настоянный на апельсиновых корках". Interesting.

So, let me see if I can wrap my mind around this. What one is literally saying is that one has, e.g. some type of recipe that is based on some type of herb or berry (...has this herb or berry as its main ingredient).

So, getting back to the orginal case, "Воздух настоян на травах", the literal meaning is that "the air is based on an herbal concoction", which in the figurative sense implies that "the air is filled with the (strong) scent of herbs"?

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Or, "Воздух настоян на травах" - literally, "The air is based on herbs", i.e. "The air is herbal-based".

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Yep, you are right. When you say "настоян на травах", it literally means that some quantity of herbs is taken and alcohol is poured over it and then you let it STAND for some time so that the smell is transferred into the liquid (настаивать comes from стоять).

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Ok. One more time. So the literal meaning is that "The air has been stood in an herbal concoction".

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scolar.livejournal.com

Not only based on herbs/berries. For instance, 50% orange juice is based on oranges and water, but it's not right to say that it's "настоян на апельсинах". The verb "настаивать" (means "делать настойку" here) implies a long process: first you put the ingridients together, then you wait for herbs/berries scent to be extracted.

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"The air has been stood in an herbal concoction".
Does THAT make sense to you?
The literal meaning is that the air smells of herbs as if it were a liquid which has undergone the described procedure.

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So "настоян на травах" is a set construction in Russian that means "is concocted/brewed with herbs/on herbs." This is its direct meaning. Its figurative, metaphorical meaning is, as you say, "full of herbs scent".

Here's a nice example from Mikhail Bulgakov's "Master and Margarita":

Ходят слухи, что он совершенно перестал пить портвейн и пьет только водку, настоянную на смородиновых почках, отчего очень поздоровел

The rumors are that he completely gave up drinking Porto vine, and now drinks only vodka concocted on black currant buds, which made him much more healthy.

Here, настоянный is used in its direct meaning: a cordial based on something, in this case on black currant buds, believe it or not. This means that vodka was poured over a substantial quantity of black currant buds, and then left for several weeks or months, so that vodka became a black currant cordial, an alcohol beverage that smells like black currant but is as clean and strong as vodka.

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Do you know the difference between "direct," literal meaning and figurative meaning, the metaphor? This is a metaphor. NOT literal meaning. It means that the air smells like herbs, AS IF IT WERE a herb cordial. See?

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Sure if one takes it metaphorically, it make sense. "The described procedure" of allowing things, esp. fluids to stand in some (herb based) concoction for some length of time is quite common in English.

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Good point.

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I think a good grasp of the former is a prerequisite for a proper understanding of the latter. Describing the process, as done above, has facilitated the comprehension of this metaphor by a wider audience, beyond oneself.

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oblomov-jerusal.livejournal.com

No, the literal meaning is that the air has undergone that procedure.

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Well, yeah, this metaphor -- воздух, настоянный на травах -- also means that the herbs were growing for a while and filled the air with their scent, not that the smell just sprang out of thin air in an instant :)

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khathi.livejournal.com

You constantly do one significant mistake hese, AFAIU. "Concocted" means "boiled with", while "настоян" would be "steeped on". Also, "brewing" is a process of bacterial fenmentation, done with yeasts or lactobacilli (most usually), not steeping or boiling.

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