Where does “joulutonttu” come from?
joulutonttu (Finnish) comes from Finnish tonttu, from Finnish tonni, from Swedish ton, from English ton, from English tun, from Middle English tunne, from Old English tunne, from Proto-Germanic tunnǭ — to stretch, string; to cut.
joulutonttu (Finnish): Christmas gnome, elf
Definitions
- Christmas gnome, elf
Ancestry of “joulutonttu”, step by step
joulutonttu traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Finnish tonttu
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finnish | tonttu | A miniature mythical humanoid creature believed... |
| 2 | Finnish | tonni | metric ton; grand |
| 3 | Swedish | ton | tonne; tone; tone, shade |
| 4 | English | ton | A unit of weight equal to 2240 pounds or 2000... |
| 5 | English | tun | A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the... |
| 6 | Middle English | tunne | cask; barrel |
| 7 | Old English | tunne | barrel, cask |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | tunnǭ | — |
| 9 | Latin | tunna | tun, box |
| 10 | Proto-Celtic | tondā | skin; surface, skin |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | tend- | to stretch, to extend; to split, cut off |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | temh₂- | to stretch, string; to cut |
via Finnish joulu
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finnish | joulu | Christmas; Abbreviation of joulukuu |