Where does “vaivaisukko” come from?
vaivaisukko (Finnish) comes from Finnish vaivainen, from Finnish vaiva, from Proto-Finnic vaiva, from Proto-Germanic waiwô, from Proto-Indo-European wai — oh!; woe!.
vaivaisukko (Finnish): pauper statue alms box in the form of carved wooden statue on the outside wall of a church in Finland and in Sweden, erected from the 17th to 19th century for collecting money for the poor
Definitions
- pauper statue alms box in the form of carved wooden statue on the outside wall of a church in Finland and in Sweden, erected from the 17th to 19th century for collecting money for the poor
Ancestry of “vaivaisukko”, step by step
vaivaisukko traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Finnish vaivainen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finnish | vaivainen | measly, paltry, miserable, wretched, pitiful,... |
| 2 | Finnish | vaiva | bother, inconvenience; ailment |
| 3 | Proto-Finnic | vaiva | bother, inconvenience; pain, illness, torment |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | waiwô | woe, grief, misery; evil, wickedness, malice |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | wai | oh!; woe! |