Where does “alaskanpäästäinen” come from?

alaskanpäästäinen (Finnish) comes from Finnish päästäinen, from Finnish päästää, from Finnish päästä, from Finnish pää, from Proto-Finnic pää, from Proto-Uralic päŋe — head.

alaskanpäästäinen (Finnish): Glacier Bay water shrew, Sorex alaskanus species of water shrew endemic to Alaska

Definitions

  1. Glacier Bay water shrew, Sorex alaskanus species of water shrew endemic to Alaska

Ancestry of “alaskanpäästäinen”, step by step

alaskanpäästäinen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish päästäinen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishpäästäinenshrew
2Finnishpäästääto let; to emit, give off; to temper
3Finnishpäästäto get to, reach, arrive at/in; to get to go, be...
4Finnishpäähead; end, tip
5Proto-Finnicpäähead
6Proto-Uralicpäŋehead

via Finnish Alaska

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FinnishAlaska—
2EnglishAlaskaEllipsis of baked Alaska
3RussianАля́ска—
4Aleutalaxsxaqthat toward which the action of the sea is...
Every word from Proto-Uralic päŋe →Every word from Proto-Finnic pää →Every word from Finnish pää →