tundra

Where does the word "tundra" come from? It comes from Sami tunturi, passing through Russian before entering English (1840s).

Tundra’s story begins in Sami: tunturi meant “a treeless hill or plain.” A treeless, frozen plain of the far north. By 1800s, the word had taken hold in Russian as tundra. From Kildin Sami 'tūndâr', treeless plain. It reached English by 1840s as tundra. Settled as the word for the biome by English-speaking geographers. Today, tundra means a vast, flat, treeless Arctic region with permanently frozen subsoil.

1. Stage 1 · Sami · medieval tunturi "a treeless hill or plain", a treeless, frozen plain of the far north.
2. Stage 2 · Russian · 1800s tundra "a treeless frozen plain", from Kildin Sami 'tūndâr', treeless plain.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1840s tundra "a vast, flat, treeless Arctic region", settled as the word for the biome by English-speaking geographers.