Where does “pikkukala” come from?

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

pikkukala (Finnish): small fish, small fry

Definitions

  1. small fish, small fry

Ancestry of “pikkukala”, step by step

pikkukala traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish kala

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

via Finnish pikku

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishpikkulittle, small; little old
2Finnishpienilittle, small; Third-person singular indicative...
3Proto-Finnicpeenilittle, small; fine
Every word from Proto-Uralic kälä →Every word from Proto-Finnic kala →Every word from Finnish kala →