Where does “punailves” come from?

punailves (Finnish) comes from Finnish puna, from Proto-Finnic puna, from Proto-Finno-Ugric puna — color, hair.

punailves (Finnish): bobcat

Definitions

  1. bobcat

Ancestry of “punailves”, step by step

punailves traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish puna

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FinnishpunaThe color red
2Proto-Finnicpunared
3Proto-Finno-Ugricpunacolor, hair

via Finnish ilves

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishilveslynx; Eurasian lynx, "Lynx lynx"
2Proto-Finnicilbeslynx
Every word from Proto-Finno-Ugric puna →Every word from Proto-Finnic puna →Every word from Finnish puna →