Etymological Notes (XI). Compounds on -er

The article studies some Estonian compounds whose first component is a derivative on -er and which do not occur as a separate word. The focus lies on three cases with an etymologically vague first component. Relying on early written Estonian and on dialect material it is shown that aher- in ahervare 'a ruin' derives from ahi 'stove', piller- in pillerkaar 'merry-making' from pila 'joke' and viker- in vikerkaar 'rainbow' from vikat 'scythe'. The last two etymologies have been suggested already by Julius Magiste. Adapted from the source document