Where does “virvatuli” come from?

virvatuli (Finnish) comes from Finnish tuli, from Proto-Finno-Ugric *tuli, from Proto-Uralic tule — fire.

virvatuli (Finnish): A will o' the wisp

Definitions

  1. A will o' the wisp

Ancestry of “virvatuli”, step by step

virvatuli traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Finnish tuli

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishtulifire; campfire; Third-person singular indicative...
2Proto-Finno-Ugric*tuli—
3Proto-Uralictulefire

via Finnish virva

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishvirva—

Words derived from “virvatuli”

Every word from Proto-Uralic tule →Every word from Proto-Finno-Ugric *tuli →Every word from Finnish tuli →
virvatuli — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer