Where does “salamerkki” come from?

salamerkki (Finnish) comes from Finnish merkki, from Old Swedish mærki, from Old Norse merki, from Proto-Germanic markō, from Proto-Indo-European morǵ- — edge, boundary, border; frontier, border.

salamerkki (Finnish): secret sign, secret gesture

Definitions

  1. secret sign, secret gesture

Ancestry of “salamerkki”, step by step

salamerkki traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish merkki

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishmerkkimark, sign; character; symbol
2Old Swedishmærki—
3Old Norsemerkiboundary
4Proto-Germanicmarkōborder, boundary; region, area
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmorǵ-edge, boundary, border; frontier, border

via Finnish sala

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FinnishsalaA secret
2Proto-Finno-Ugric*sala—
3Proto-Uralicśalaelm
Every word from Proto-Indo-European morǵ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic markō →Every word from Old Norse merki →