Where does “vänskä” come from?
vänskä (Finnish) comes from Finnish vänrikki, from Swedish fänrik, from German Fähnrich, from German fahne, from Middle High German vane, from Old High German fano, from Proto-West Germanic *fanō, from Proto-Germanic fanô — fabric.
vänskä (Finnish): second lieutenant
Ancestry of “vänskä”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Finnish | vänrikki | The lowest officer rank in the Finnish army. The... |
| 2 | Swedish | fänrik | the lowest officer rank in the Swedish and... |
| 3 | German | Fähnrich | the soldier wearing the flag; ensign |
| 4 | German | fahne | — |
| 5 | Middle High German | vane | — |
| 6 | Old High German | fano | flag |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | *fanō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | fanô | cloth; dook/duck; banner; flag |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pān- | fabric |