Where does “tonttu” come from?
tonttu (Finnish) comes from Finnish tonni, from Swedish ton, from English ton, from English tun, from Middle English tunne, from Old English tunne, from Proto-Germanic tunnǭ, from Latin tunna — to stretch, string; to cut.
tonttu (Finnish): A miniature mythical humanoid creature believed...
Definitions
- A miniature mythical humanoid creature believed...
Ancestry of “tonttu”, step by step
tonttu traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Finnish tonni
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finnish | tonni | metric ton; grand |
| 2 | Swedish | ton | tonne; tone; tone, shade |
| 3 | English | ton | A unit of weight equal to 2240 pounds or 2000... |
| 4 | English | tun | A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the... |
| 5 | Middle English | tunne | cask; barrel |
| 6 | Old English | tunne | barrel, cask |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | tunnǭ | — |
| 8 | Latin | tunna | tun, box |
| 9 | Proto-Celtic | tondā | skin; surface, skin |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | tend- | to stretch, to extend; to split, cut off |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | temh₂- | to stretch, string; to cut |
via Swedish tomte
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swedish | tomte | A small human-like creature in Nordic folklore... |
| 2 | Swedish | tomt | a ground lot, a parcel (of land), that has had, currently has or in the future will have a house built on it. It especially refers either to the land that directly surrounds the house (not uncommonly fenced), even if the total estate might be much bigger, or a legally delineated lot in town-like env |
| 3 | Old Norse | toft | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | tumþiz | seemliness, agreement; association, guild,... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | dem- | to build; to arrange, to put together |