Where does “pelihahmo” come from?

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

pelihahmo (Finnish): video game character, game character

Definitions

  1. video game character, game character

Ancestry of “pelihahmo”, step by step

pelihahmo 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 hahmo

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishhahmoshape; figure; character
2Finnishhaamughost, spirit; shadow
3Proto-Finnichaama—
4Proto-Finno-Permicšamɜ—
Every word from Proto-West Germanic spil →Every word from Old Saxon spil →Every word from Middle Low German spel →