Where does “vara-avain” come from?
vara-avain (Finnish) comes from Finnish avain, from Finnish avata, from Proto-Finnic avait'ak, from Proto-Finno-Ugric aŋa-.
vara-avain (Finnish): spare key, backup key
Ancestry of “vara-avain”, step by step
vara-avain traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Finnish avain
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Finnish | avain | key; code; clef, used especially in compound... |
| 2 | Finnish | avata | to open; to unwrap; to turn on |
| 3 | Proto-Finnic | avait'ak | to open |
| 4 | Proto-Finno-Ugric | aŋa- | — |
via Finnish vara
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Finnish | vara | reserve, backup; resources, reserves, funds,... |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | warō | attention, care |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |