Uralic Loanwords in English

The Uralic (or Finno-Ugric) languages are probably native to the Ural mountains. They are spoken in parts of northwestern Russia but also include Hungarian, Estonian, Finnish and Sami. These languages are known to have borrowed many words from the surrounding Indo-European languages, such as Proto-Germanic and Indo-Iranian, probably even from Proto-Indo-European itself. There were fewer loans in the other direction, but they exist. Two words in this quiz may be very early borrowings, others are much more recent, mostly from Finnish and Hungarian.
Thumbnail: cropped picture of Birch-bark letter 292 (13th century), the earliest written Finnish: source.
* Words with an asterisk have an uncertain or disputed etymology.
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PeregrineFalcon
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Last updated: April 11, 2025
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First submittedApril 11, 2025
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From the town of Kocs in Hungary: originally a carriage. Now also a trainer or a tourbus.
coach
A small, cozy house, especially in the English countryside. An unaged cheese is made here. Possibly an ancient Uralic loanword.*
cottage
Hungarian beef stew with †.
goulash
A past participle meaning tired, bored or world weary. Originally an old horse. It has nothing to do with the green gemstone.*
jaded
A tusked, prehistorical mammal that roamed the steppe-tundra. Possibly from Mansi.
mammoth
† From Hungarian. Dried and powdered peppers. In fact, the word is related to 'pepper'.
paprika
Fur-lined coat with a hood. The Russians borrowed it from the Nenets and lent it to the Aleut. From there, it entered the English language.
parka
From Hungarian. A curved sword used by cavalry. Might be derived from a Turkic or Tungusic language.
sabre
A hothouse where water is poured over hot stones. From Finnish.
sauna
Various marine mammals that hunt in the water and rest on land. Possibly an ancient Uralic loanword.*
seal
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1 Comments
+2
Level 78
Apr 12, 2025
The word 'mud' has also been hypothesized as a Uralic loanword by one linguist.