Where does “kalamees” come from?

kalamees (Estonian) comes from Estonian kala, from Proto-Finnic kala, from Proto-Uralic kälä — fish.

kalamees (Estonian): fisherman, fisher

Definitions

  1. fisherman, fisher

Ancestry of “kalamees”, step by step

kalamees traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Estonian kala

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Estoniankalafish
2Proto-Finnickalafish
3Proto-Uralickäläfish

via Estonian mees

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Estonianmeesman; husband; inessive singular of mesi
2Proto-Finnicmeesman, male; husband
3Proto-Finnicmeexes—

via Ingrian kala

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ingriankalafish
Every word from Proto-Uralic kälä →Every word from Proto-Finnic kala →Every word from Estonian kala →