Where does “ilmakirje” come from?
ilmakirje (Finnish) comes from Finnish Ilma, from Finnish -ri, from Finnish -ra, from Finnish -i, from Proto-Uralic -j — oblique plural.
ilmakirje (Finnish): air letter
Ancestry of “ilmakirje”, step by step
ilmakirje traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Finnish Ilma
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Finnish | Ilma | air |
| 2 | Finnish | -ri | Used to create names of occupations from nouns or... |
| 3 | Finnish | -ra | Forms nouns or adjectives, mostly from nominal... |
| 4 | Finnish | -i | A nominal suffix used in eg. ukko → ukki; Used... |
| 5 | Proto-Uralic | -j | oblique plural |
via Finnish kirje
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Finnish | kirje | letter |
| 2 | Finnish | kirja | book; quire |
| 3 | Proto-Finnic | kirja | decoration, carving, pattern |