Where does “kaivosmies” come from?

kaivosmies (Finnish) comes from Finnish kaivos, from Finnish kaivaa, from Proto-Finnic kaivadak, from Proto-Uralic kajwa- — dig.

kaivosmies (Finnish): miner

Definitions

  1. miner

Ancestry of “kaivosmies”, step by step

kaivosmies traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish kaivos

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishkaivosmine
2Finnishkaivaato dig, dig up, dig out, excavate
3Proto-Finnickaivadakto dig up, to excavate
4Proto-Uralickajwa-dig

via Finnish mies

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishmiesman; husband
2Proto-Finnicmeesman, male; husband
3Proto-Finnicmeexes—
Every word from Proto-Uralic kajwa- →Every word from Proto-Finnic kaivadak →Every word from Finnish kaivaa →