Where does “pilanpäin” come from?

pilanpäin (Finnish) comes from Finnish pila, from Old Swedish spil, from Middle Low German spil, from Old Saxon spil, from Proto-West Germanic spil — dance; game, exercise.

pilanpäin (Finnish): jokingly, in jest

Definitions

  1. jokingly, in jest

Ancestry of “pilanpäin”, step by step

pilanpäin traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish pila

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishpilajoke, jest; practical joke, jest
2Old Swedishspil—
3Middle Low Germanspilnoun
4Old Saxonspil—
5Proto-West Germanicspildance; game, exercise

via Finnish päin

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishpäinagainst, to, on etc; Used to indicate approximate...
2Finnishpäähead; end, tip
3Proto-Finnicpäähead
4Proto-Uralicpäŋehead
Every word from Proto-West Germanic spil →Every word from Old Saxon spil →Every word from Middle Low German spil →