Where does “tähestik” come from?
tähestik (Estonian) comes from Estonian täht, from Finnish tähti, from Swedish täkt, from Swedish tå, from Swedish taga, from Old Swedish taka, from Old Norse taka, from Proto-Germanic tēkaną — to touch.
tähestik (Estonian): alphabet
Ancestry of “tähestik”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Estonian | täht | letter; star |
| 2 | Finnish | tähti | star; a famous person, celebrity, star; a white... |
| 3 | Swedish | täkt | a quarry |
| 4 | Swedish | tå | toe; a body part |
| 5 | Swedish | taga | Dated form of ta |
| 6 | Old Swedish | taka | to touch, reach; to grasp, seize; to take, bring |
| 7 | Old Norse | taka | to take; taking, capture; taking, seizing |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | tēkaną | to touch; to grasp |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₁g- | to touch |