Where does “Eestimaa” come from?

Eestimaa (Estonian) comes from Estonian maa, from Proto-Finnic maa, from Proto-Uralic mëxe, from Proto-Indo-European meǵh₂s — great.

Eestimaa (Estonian): the Governorate of Estonia; the region of Estonia (as opposed to Livonia), in what is now northern Estonia

Definitions

  1. the Governorate of Estonia; the region of Estonia (as opposed to Livonia), in what is now northern Estonia

Ancestry of “Eestimaa”, step by step

Eestimaa traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Estonian maa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Estonianmaaearth; land; ground
2Proto-Finnicmaaearth, ground, soil; land, country
3Proto-Uralicmëxeearth, land
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmeǵh₂sgreat

via Estonian eesti

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EstonianeestiEstonian
Every word from Proto-Indo-European meǵh₂s →Every word from Proto-Uralic mëxe →Every word from Proto-Finnic maa →