Where does “o” come from?
o (Finnish) comes from Swedish ö, from Old Swedish ø, from Old Norse ey, from Proto-Norse *ᚨᚢᛃᚢ, from Proto-Germanic awjō, from Proto-Germanic agwjō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ékʷeh₂ — water.
Ancestry of “o”, step by step
o traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Swedish ö
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swedish | ö | island |
| 2 | Old Swedish | ø | a letter of the Old Swedish alphabet, written in the Latin script |
| 3 | Old Norse | ey | always, ever; island |
| 4 | Proto-Norse | *ᚨᚢᛃᚢ | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | awjō | floodplain; meadow; island |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | agwjō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ékʷeh₂ | water |
via German o
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | o | O#Particle |