Where does “virtavästäräkki” come from?

virtavästäräkki (Finnish) comes from Finnish virta, from Proto-Finnic virta, from Proto-Slavic vьrtъ — turn, enclosure.

virtavästäräkki (Finnish): grey wagtail, "Motacilla cinerea"

Definitions

  1. grey wagtail, "Motacilla cinerea"

Ancestry of “virtavästäräkki”, step by step

virtavästäräkki traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish virta

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishvirtaflow, stream; river; current
2Proto-Finnicvirtastream; flow, current
3Proto-Slavicvьrtъturn, enclosure

via Finnish västäräkki

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishvästäräkkiwagtail; white wagtail, "Motacilla alba"
Every word from Proto-Slavic vьrtъ →Every word from Proto-Finnic virta →Every word from Finnish virta →
virtavästäräkki — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer