Where does “pelivara” come from?
pelivara (Finnish) comes from Finnish peli, from Middle Low German spel, from Old Saxon spil, from Proto-West Germanic spil — dance; game, exercise.
pelivara (Finnish): leeway, elbowroom
Ancestry of “pelivara”, step by step
pelivara traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Finnish peli
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Finnish | peli | game; match, game; game; tool, means, implement,... |
| 2 | Middle Low German | spel | — |
| 3 | Old Saxon | spil | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | spil | dance; game, exercise |
via Finnish vara
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Finnish | vara | reserve, backup; resources, reserves, funds,... |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | warō | attention, care |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |