Where does “petokala” come from?

petokala (Finnish) comes from Finnish kala, from Proto-Finnic kala, from Proto-Uralic kälä — fish.

petokala (Finnish): predatory fish

Definitions

  1. predatory fish

Ancestry of “petokala”, step by step

petokala traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish kala

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishkalafish; fishing; seafood
2Proto-Finnickalafish
3Proto-Uralickäläfish

via Finnish peto

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishpetomeat-eating beast, predator; carnivore; monster
Every word from Proto-Uralic kälä →Every word from Proto-Finnic kala →Every word from Finnish kala →