Where does “liitokala” come from?

liitokala (Finnish) comes from Finnish liito, from Finnish liitää, from Proto-Germanic glīdaną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰleydʰ- — to glide.

liitokala (Finnish): flying fish

Definitions

  1. flying fish

Ancestry of “liitokala”, step by step

liitokala traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish liito

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishliitoglide
2Finnishliitääto sail; to glide; to soar
3Proto-Germanicglīdanąto glide; slide
4Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰleydʰ-to glide

via Finnish kala

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishkalafish; fishing; seafood
2Proto-Finnickalafish
3Proto-Uralickäläfish
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰleydʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic glīdaną →Every word from Finnish liitää →