Where does “maitovalas” come from?
maitovalas (Finnish) comes from Finnish valas, from Proto-Samic fālēs, from Proto-Germanic hwalaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos — large fish; sheatfish.
maitovalas (Finnish): beluga whale
Ancestry of “maitovalas”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Finnish | valas | whale |
| 2 | Proto-Samic | fālēs | whale |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | hwalaz | whale, sheatfish |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kʷálos | large fish; sheatfish |