Where does “Karelia” come from?
Karelia (Polish) comes from Russian Каре́лия, from Medieval Latin Carelia, from Swedish Karelen, from Finnish Karjala, from Finnish karja, from Proto-Germanic harjaz, from Proto-Indo-European kóryos, from Proto-Indo-European ḱer- — army.
Ancestry of “Karelia”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Russian | Каре́лия | — |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | Carelia | — |
| 3 | Swedish | Karelen | — |
| 4 | Finnish | Karjala | Karelia |
| 5 | Finnish | karja | cattle ; sometimes with a specifier: nautakarja,... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | harjaz | army; army leader; commander; warrior |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kóryos | war; troops; army; war, troops |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |