Where does “maaeläin” come from?
maaeläin (Finnish) comes from Finnish eläin, from Finnish elää, from Proto-Finnic elädäk, from Proto-Uralic elä- — to live.
maaeläin (Finnish): terrestrial animal
Ancestry of “maaeläin”, step by step
maaeläin traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Finnish eläin
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Finnish | eläin | animal |
| 2 | Finnish | elää | To live, be alive; To live |
| 3 | Proto-Finnic | elädäk | to live |
| 4 | Proto-Uralic | elä- | to live |
via Finnish mää
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Finnish | mää | baa; I |
| 2 | Finnish | -inen | -like, -ous, -y; -en; Creates adjectives from... |
| 3 | Finnish | -uus | Forms nouns from adjectives, expressing a quality |
| 4 | Proto-Finnic | -uc | -ness, -hood |