Where does “puolikielinen” come from?

puolikielinen (Finnish) comes from Finnish kieli, from Proto-Finnic keeli, from Proto-Uralic käle — tongue; language.

puolikielinen (Finnish): semilingual; bilingual but not knowing either language, even their native language, well

Definitions

  1. semilingual; bilingual but not knowing either language, even their native language, well

Ancestry of “puolikielinen”, step by step

puolikielinen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish kieli

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishkielitongue; language; string
2Proto-Finnickeelitongue; language
3Proto-Uralickäletongue; language

via Finnish puoli

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishpuolihalf; when followed by a number representing an...
2Proto-Finnicpoolihalf, side; half
3Proto-Uralicpälähalf

Words derived from “puolikielinen”

Every word from Proto-Uralic käle →Every word from Proto-Finnic keeli →Every word from Finnish kieli →