Where does “oravanpyörä” come from?

oravanpyörä (Finnish) comes from Finnish orava, from Proto-Finnic oraba, from Proto-Uralic ora, from Proto-Indo-Iranian Hā́raH, from Proto-Indo-European h₁ólos, from Proto-Indo-European ēl- — awl, prong.

oravanpyörä (Finnish): rat race; treadmill

Definitions

  1. rat race; treadmill

Ancestry of “oravanpyörä”, step by step

oravanpyörä traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish orava

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishoravasquirrel; red squirrel, Eurasian red squirrel
2Proto-Finnicorabasquirrel
3Proto-Uralicorasquirrel; awl
4Proto-Indo-IranianHā́raH—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁ólosawl
6Proto-Indo-Europeanēl-awl, prong

via Finnish pyörä

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishpyöräwheel; caster; Short for polkupyörä
2Proto-Finno-Ugric*pöörä—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ēl- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁ólos →Every word from Proto-Indo-Iranian Hā́raH →