Where does “raka” come from?

raka (Karelian) comes from Russian ра́к, from Proto-Slavic rakъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic rṓˀkas, from Proto-Indo-European wreh₃kʷos — looking backwards.

raka (Karelian): cancer

Definitions

  1. cancer

Ancestry of “raka”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianра́к—
2Proto-Slavicrakъcrayfish
3Proto-Balto-Slavicrṓˀkas—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwreh₃kʷoslooking backwards
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wreh₃kʷos →Every word from Proto-Balto-Slavic rṓˀkas →Every word from Proto-Slavic rakъ →