A loved one and a freak may have a surprising amount in common, reveals linguist Janne Saarikivi in his book Dear Words.
Love is a freak. Illustration picture. AOP
The words love and beloved sound wonderful, because when you think of them, people and things that are important to you come to mind.
No wonder they have been chosen as the second and third most beautiful words in the Finnish language. The most beautiful was, of course, the mother.
Less well known, however, is where the words come from. Fortunately, the Kielikello magazine by language maintenance experts opens up the backgrounds of words. Even Mikael Agricola used words, such as the verb to love.
But the beloved and love have not always been the most beautiful and gentlest things in the human mind.
– According to the current understanding, rakas comes from a rather negative word meaning “greedy” or “lustful” from the Old Germanic word *frakaz. The word could also mean to send.
In many images, love is commitment and respect. Pictured are Ritva and Esko Ketola, whose kiss was immortalized as a mural on the side of a house in Espoo in 2017. The couple has lived in the house for 50 years. The painting was made by Teemu Mäenpää. Node Salminen
Author Minna Pyhälahti considers it possible that the current meaning has evolved over time from a lust for the flesh to a more restrained love.
The Finnish etymological dictionary also offers other meanings for words, such as tenacious, contagious disease.
Benevolent, generous and polite, as well as attached and liked, and enthusiastic already sound more familiar.
Is my love a freak?
– Love means anything, he writes Janne Saarikivi in his information book Dear words (Teos, 2022).
He lists that in modern Finland, love includes both sexual desire and the noble mind to help the less fortunate. It means a trust approaching holiness and a commitment to listen and respect your spouse.
– But excuse me. These things have nothing to do with each other! Saarikoski strikes.
He compares that a person’s love for his spouse, child and pet is often different.
The word has a rich past in the Finnish language. In old poems, rakas mostly meant fierce or fierce.
The track widens further when you move abroad.
If the word “loved” is originally a Germanic word, the same root is an English word familiar to most freaki.e. freak, crazy.
If you ever wonder if your loved one is a freak, it can be very possible in a certain sense.
#Love
