Where does “ristiselkä” come from?

ristiselkä (Finnish) comes from Finnish Risti, from Finnish -iäinen, from Finnish -inen, from Finnish -uus, from Proto-Finnic -uc — -ness, -hood.

ristiselkä (Finnish): lumbar region, small of the back

Definitions

  1. lumbar region, small of the back

Ancestry of “ristiselkä”, step by step

ristiselkä traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish Risti

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FinnishRisticross
2Finnish-iäinenFront vowel variant of -iainen
3Finnish-inen-like, -ous, -y; -en; Creates adjectives from...
4Finnish-uusForms nouns from adjectives, expressing a quality
5Proto-Finnic-uc-ness, -hood

via Finnish selkä

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishselkäback; ridge, spine; watershed area
2Proto-Finnicselkäback; ridge
3Proto-Finno-Permicśelkä
Every word from Proto-Finnic -ucEvery word from Finnish -inenEvery word from Finnish -uus
ristiselkä — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer