View Message

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

[Facts] Finland is the Swedish and English name
in reply to a message by Mar
They don't call their own country Finland but Suomi.There is a small minority of Swedish people living in Finland; Finland was once part of Sweden. We called them Finns, don't know where this name from.- She said he made a racial slur!
- Racial? She is Swedish!
- Maybe he called her Meatball."I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I’ve decided to be spontaneous."
vote up1vote down

Replies

According to an etymology website fin possibly stems from fen, which means 'marsh'. I think Finland makes sense then in a way if Suomi really means 'land of marshes'or something similar.
edit: spelling
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

This message was edited 9/15/2006, 4:03 PM

vote up1vote down
It does, according to some theories. As far as I know, the etymology of the word Suomi is still more or less debatable, but some people claim that it's derived from 'suomaa', meaning 'marsh land'.
vote up1vote down