*finnaz

Runic: ᚠᛁᚾᚨᛉ Pronunciation: /ˈɸin.nɑz/

noun · masculine · a-stem

Meanings

Sami

Etymology

Uncertain. (Lindroth 1917) disputes the typical *finþaną (‘to find’) origin via an alleged agent noun meaning ‘seeker, wanderer, nomad’, as morphologically and historically doubtful: the earliest external forms, Tacitus’ Fenni and Ptolemy’s Φίννοι (phinnoi), point directly to *finn- rather than to an expected form with a dental at such an early stage of borrowing. The name may instead have originated as a northern Proto-Germanic personal name turned ethnonym based on, or secondarily associated with, a locality/terrain name: Finn- (cf. Danr/Dane, Eistr/Estonian), but regards the ultimate meaning as obscure.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nom.finnazfinnōz, finnōs
Acc.finnąfinnanz
Gen.finnas, finnisfinnǫ̂
Dat.finnaifinnamaz
Inst.finnōfinnamiz
Voc.finnfinnōz, finnōs

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Descendants

  • *Finn (Proto-West Germanic)
    • Finn, Finnas (Old English)
      • Fins (English)
  • finnr (Old Norse)
    • finnur (Faroese)
    • Finnur (Icelandic)
  • finnr (Old Norse)
    • finn (Norwegian)
      • fin (Danish)
        • finn (Norwegian Bokmål)
  • finnr (Old Norse)
    • finne (Danish)
      • finne (Norwegian Bokmål)
  • finnr (Old Norse)
    • finne, finnar (Old Swedish)
      • finne (Swedish)
        • Finne (German)
        • finne (Norwegian Nynorsk)
  • Φίννος (Phínnos) (Ancient Greek)
  • Fennus, Finnus (Late Latin)

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