Where does “pakkopeli” come from?

pakkopeli (Finnish) comes from Finnish peli, from Middle Low German spel, from Old Saxon spil, from Proto-West Germanic spil — dance; game, exercise.

pakkopeli (Finnish): force play

Definitions

  1. force play

Ancestry of “pakkopeli”, step by step

pakkopeli traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish peli

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishpeligame; match, game; game; tool, means, implement,...
2Middle Low Germanspel—
3Old Saxonspil—
4Proto-West Germanicspildance; game, exercise

via Finnish pakko

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishpakkoobligation, force, necessity, compulsion;...
2Proto-Finnicpakkoblock of wood
Every word from Proto-West Germanic spil →Every word from Old Saxon spil →Every word from Middle Low German spel →