Reconstruction:Proto-Finnic/meccä

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

Alternative forms

*mecca

Etymology

Probably from a Baltic language. The term was apparently borrowed during the time of the split of South Estonian and Livonian from the rest of Finnic, as the former group borrowed it with back vowel harmony, whereas the latter group has front vowel harmony. Compare with Lithuanian mẽdžias (“forest”), Latvian mežs (“forest”) and Latgalian mežs (“forest”).[1][2]

Alternatively from Proto-Finno-Ugric *mećä, *meććä (“edge, periphery”), compare Hungarian messze (“far”).

Noun

*meccä

forest

Inflection

Inflection of *meccä

	singular	plural
Note: The Proto-Finnic declension system is yet to be reconstructed in detail. What is presented here is only one possibility.
nominative	*meccä	*mec'ät
accusative	*mec'än	*mec'ät
genitive	*mec'än	meccäden mecceiden
partitive	*meccädä	*mecceidä
inessive	mec'ässä mec'ähnä	mec'eissä mec'eihnä
elative	*mec'ästä	*mec'eistä
illative	*meccähen	*mecceihen
adessive	*mec'ällä	*mec'eillä
ablative	*mec'ältä	*mec'eiltä
allative	meccälen meccälek	mecceilen mecceilek
essive	*meccänä	*mecceinä
translative	*mec'äksi	*mec'eiksi
instructive	*mec'än	*mec'ein
comitative	*meccänek	*mecceinek
abessive	*mec'ättä	*mec'eittä

Descendants

Estonian: mets
Finnish: metsä
Ingrian: metsä
Karelian:
- North Karelian: meččä
- South Karelian: meččä
Livvi: meččy
Ludian: mečč
Veps: mec
Votic: mettse
→ Proto-Samic: *meaccē

References

Illich-Svitych, Vladislav M. (1963) Именная акцентуация в балтийском и славянском: Судьба акцентуационных парадигм [Nominal Accentuation in Baltic and Slavic: The Fate of Accentuation Paradigms]‎ (in Russian), Soviet Union; Moscow: Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences, page 46: “[footnote] 37”
Illich-Svitych, Vladislav M. (1979) Nominal Accentuation in Baltic and Slavic: The Fate of Accentuation Paradigms (in English), United States of America: The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England, page 157: “37.”

mets in Metsmägi, Iris; Sedrik, Meeli; Soosaar, Sven-Erik (2012), Eesti etümoloogiasõnaraamat, Tallinn: Eesti Keele Instituut, →ISBN
Itkonen, Erkki; Kulonen, Ulla-Maija, editors (1992–2000) Suomen sanojen alkuperä [The origin of Finnish words]‎ (in Finnish), [note: linked online version also includes some other etymological sources], Helsinki: Institute for the Languages of Finland/Finnish Literature Society, →ISBN

[1] Illich-Svitych, Vladislav M. (1963) Именная акцентуация в балтийском и славянском: Судьба акцентуационных парадигм [Nominal Accentuation in Baltic and Slavic: The Fate of Accentuation Paradigms]‎ (in Russian), Soviet Union; Moscow: Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences, page 46: “[footnote] 37”

[2] Illich-Svitych, Vladislav M. (1979) Nominal Accentuation in Baltic and Slavic: The Fate of Accentuation Paradigms (in English), United States of America: The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England, page 157: “37.”