Etymology Explorer › Finnish

Where does “Karhu” come from?

Karhu (Finnish) comes from Finnish karhu, from Proto-Finnic karhu, from Proto-Finnic karheda — rough, coarse.

Ancestry of “Karhu”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishkarhubear; brown bear, "Ursus arctos"
2Proto-Finnickarhubear
3Proto-Finnickarhedarough, coarse
Every word from Proto-Finnic karheda →