Where does “petoeläin” come from?

petoeläin (Finnish) comes from Finnish eläin, from Finnish elää, from Proto-Finnic elädäk, from Proto-Uralic elä- — to live.

petoeläin (Finnish): carnivore, any member of the order Carnivora

Definitions

  1. carnivore, any member of the order Carnivora

Ancestry of “petoeläin”, step by step

petoeläin traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish eläin

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnisheläinanimal
2FinnishelääTo live, be alive; To live
3Proto-Finnicelädäkto live
4Proto-Uralicelä-to live

via Finnish peto

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishpetomeat-eating beast, predator; carnivore; monster
Every word from Proto-Uralic elä- →Every word from Proto-Finnic elädäk →Every word from Finnish elää →