Where does “Reykjavík” come from?
Reykjavík (Estonian) comes from Icelandic Reykjavík, from Old Norse reykja, from Proto-Germanic raukijaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.
Ancestry of “Reykjavík”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Icelandic | Reykjavík | bay of smokes |
| 2 | Old Norse | reykja | to smoke |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | raukijaną | to smoke |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 7 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |