Where does “selväkieli” come from?

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

selväkieli (Finnish): plain language

Definitions

  1. plain language

Ancestry of “selväkieli”, step by step

selväkieli traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish kieli

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

via Finnish selvä

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishselväclear; free; sober
2Proto-Finnicselvä—
Every word from Proto-Uralic käle →Every word from Proto-Finnic keeli →Every word from Finnish kieli →