Põldpaost paakspuu ja kollase värvini
From feldspar to alder buckthorn and the colour yellow

Summary/Abstract: The onomatopoetically derived stems *pakka- and *paka- trace back to ancient times, originally signifying actions like breaking and splitting along with the associated sounds. Over time, the concept of colour became syncretically intertwined with these meanings. Derivatives formed by adding suffixes to the root *pakka- include the Finnish pakkunen ‘three-lobe beggarticks (Bidens tripartitus)’, the Olonetsian pakkuinen ‘yellow’, the Vepsian pakuine ‘yellow’, and the Hungarian fakó (< *pak-) ‘greyish; faded; cream-coloured (about a horse)’. These terms share the common thread of ‘yellow’. The stem *paka- contributed to the Finnic names for alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus or Rhamnus frangula), such as the Estonian paakspuu, the Finnish paatsama, the Vepsian pagač, and others, along with the Estonian pagu ‘feldspar’ and paat(jas) ‘pale or greyish yellow’.In ancient times, the rock paintings of South-Eastern Finland used paint made from buckthorn, in addition to ochre, to achieve the so-called macro-red tones. The association of the colour yellow with wood, feldspar, or another significant coloured rock in the prehistorical times is plausible. Both the wood and the stone derive their names from their good splitting properties. Unfortunately, there is no information about the term’s prevalence outside the Estonian language. The disappearance of this term is likely linked to the diminishing significance of the material in economic, aesthetic and/or religious contexts.In general, the study suggests a partially parallel semantic development of similar words in sound composition. In Finno-Ugric languages, the evolution of *pakka ~ *paka progressed from ‘break, burst’ → ‘split tree/wood or stone/rock’ → ‘split, brittle coloured wood or easily split [= ‘alder buckthorn’], brittle coloured stone/rock [= feldspar]’ → ‘yellow’. The point at which syncretism appeared remains unclear, considering the intertwining with the meaning of another stem, as well as semantic shifts due to diverse component associations. In various Indo-European languages, *sphē- ~ *sphə- has developed as follows: ‘long, flat piece of wood’ → ‘chip; brushwood; thin log’ → ‘dried wood’ → ‘split, cracked wood’ → ‘split, brittle rock [= feldspar]’ and ‘flat objects with a thinner part, mostly with a handle [= oar, spade, spoon; wedge, shoulder blade, etc.]’. The meaning ‘feldspar’ is exclusive to Germanic languages, with no progression to the taxonomic and colour concepts of wildlife.

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