--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Daniel J. Milton" <dmilt1896@...>
wrote:
> THe Finnish Devil 'Perkele'. Is his name borrowed from the
> Baltic?
Uotila explains Fin. <perkele> 'devil (a swear-word)' < *perkeleh <
Baltic *perk- found in <Perkú:nas> 'thunder god' and its diminutives
<Perku:ne:~lis>, <Perke:~lis> (I must admit I've never heard this
last variant), positing the semantic development from sacred
('thunder god') to pejorative ('devil') in Finnish.
Sergei