Where does “olipa kerran” come from?

olipa kerran (Finnish) comes from Finnish oli, from Finnish olla, from Proto-Finnic oldak, from Proto-Uralic wole- — to be, become; be, will be.

olipa kerran (Finnish): once upon a time there was

Definitions

  1. once upon a time there was

Ancestry of “olipa kerran”, step by step

olipa kerran traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish oli

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FinnisholiThird-person singular indicative past form of...
2Finnishollato be; to be, constitute, make up, form; to have;...
3Proto-Finnicoldakto be
4Proto-Uralicwole-to be, become; be, will be

via Finnish kerran

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishkerranonce one, and only one, time
Every word from Proto-Uralic wole-Every word from Proto-Finnic oldakEvery word from Finnish olla