Where does “töötaja” come from?

töötaja (Estonian) comes from Estonian ja, from Proto-Finno-Ugric *ja, from Proto-Germanic jahw, from Proto-Germanic -hw, from Proto-Germanic -hwe, from Proto-Indo-European -kʷe — and; Forms distributives from interrogatives.

töötaja (Estonian): employee, worker

Definitions

  1. employee, worker

Ancestry of “töötaja”, step by step

töötaja traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Estonian ja

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Estonianjaand
2Proto-Finno-Ugric*ja—
3Proto-Germanicjahwand, also
4Proto-Germanic-hwand; Forms distributives from interrogatives
5Proto-Germanic-hwe—
6Proto-Indo-European-kʷeand; Forms distributives from interrogatives

via Estonian töötama

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Estoniantöötamato work
2Estoniantööwork
3Proto-FinnictööAlternative form of *tek; work, labour
4Proto-Finnictekyou
5Proto-Uralicteyou
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -kʷe →Every word from Proto-Germanic -hw →Every word from Proto-Germanic jahw →