Where does “pikkupiirteinen” come from?

pikkupiirteinen (Finnish) comes from Finnish piirre, from Finnish piirtää, from Finnish piiri, from Proto-Finnic piiri, from Proto-Uralic pire — circle.

Ancestry of “pikkupiirteinen”, step by step

pikkupiirteinen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish piirre

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishpiirrefeature; cast; trait
2Finnishpiirtääto draw, sketch; to design, draft; to outline,...
3Finnishpiiriring of people; administrative district, region;...
4Proto-Finnicpiiriline; border; ring, circle
5Proto-Uralicpirecircle

via Finnish pikku

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