Where does “selittely” come from?
selittely (Finnish) comes from Finnish selitellä, from Finnish selittää, from Finnish selitä, from Finnish selkeä, from Proto-Finnic selkedä — clear.
selittely (Finnish): making excuses (for)
Ancestry of “selittely”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Finnish | selitellä | To make excuses for, explain away |
| 2 | Finnish | selittää | to explain; to explicate |
| 3 | Finnish | selitä | to clear; Indicative present connegative form of... |
| 4 | Finnish | selkeä | clear, sunny; Up to 1/8 covered by clouds; clear |
| 5 | Proto-Finnic | selkedä | clear |