Where does “karhunputki” come from?

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

karhunputki (Finnish): angelica; any of the plants in the genus Angelica, especially the wild angelica, Angelica sylvestris

Definitions

  1. angelica; any of the plants in the genus Angelica, especially the wild angelica, Angelica sylvestris

Ancestry of “karhunputki”, step by step

karhunputki traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish Karhu

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FinnishKarhuA major brand of beer in Finland
2Finnishkarhubear; brown bear, "Ursus arctos"
3Proto-Finnickarhubear
4Proto-Finnickarhedarough, coarse

via Finnish putki

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishputkitube, pipe; duct, conduit; barrel
2Proto-Finnicpuckiplant with a hollow stem, especially various plants of genus Angelica
3Proto-Uralicpučkehollow plant stalk
Every word from Proto-Finnic karheda →