Reconstruction:Proto-Finnic/veeras

This Proto-Finnic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Finnic

Etymology

Probably *veeri (side, edge) +‎ *-as (the suffix is a variant of *-s), albeit this etymology is not without doubt. Semantically, the original sense could have been someone who lives on the side or on the edge, i.e. outside one's own location, hence a stranger.

Another possibility is borrowing from Proto-Germanic *weraz (man) (compare Old Norse verr) or Proto-Balto-Slavic *wī́ˀras (man, male) (compare Lithuanian výras (man, husband)).

Noun

*veeras

  1. guest, visitor
  2. stranger

Adjective

*veeras

  1. strange, foreign, unfamiliar

Inflection

Descendants

  • Estonian: võõras
  • Finnish: vieras
  • Ingrian: veeras
  • Karelian:
  • Livonian: vȭrõz
  • Livvi: vieras
  • Ludian: vieraz
  • Veps: veraz
  • Võro: võõras
  • Votic: võõrõz
  • Proto-Samic: *vierēs

Further reading

  • Kallio, Petri (2020–), “*vëëras”, in Yhteissuomalainen sanasto [Common Finnic Vocabulary]‎[1] (in Finnish)
  • võõras”, in [ETY] Eesti etümoloogiasõnaraamat [Estonian Etymological Dictionary] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2012

Alternative reconstructions

  • *vëëras