Where does “uurnavaali” come from?
uurnavaali (Finnish) comes from Finnish vaali, from Swedish väl, from Old Swedish hval, from Old Norse hvalr, from Proto-Germanic hwalaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos — large fish; sheatfish.
uurnavaali (Finnish): ballot box
Ancestry of “uurnavaali”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Finnish | vaali | election; Third-person singular indicative past... |
| 2 | Swedish | väl | well; accurately, completely, to a significant... |
| 3 | Old Swedish | hval | whale |
| 4 | Old Norse | hvalr | whale |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hwalaz | whale, sheatfish |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kʷálos | large fish; sheatfish |