Reconstruction:Proto-Finnic/hurma

Unknown origin. The Estonian reflex has been compared with words in Samic and Mordvinic (e.g. Erzya орма (orma, “disease”)) that would, however, require h- as attested in Northern Finnic to be secondary. Contamination from Finnish huuma may be possible.

EVE suggests that the word could be a derivation from *huristak (“to hum, whirr”), thus originally meaning "humming, whirring", with a later possible semantic shift to "whirl, vortex". This would make the Livonian descendant closest to the original meaning. The meaning "blood" would be developed by ellipsis from *vërën hurma (literally “flow of blood”), while the meaning "ecstasy, excitement, charm" would refer to how such emotions 'make one's head spin'.[1]

A number of direct descendants and derivatives show a meaning 'blood' or 'wound', usually used in poetic or mythical contexts (the semantically neutral term for 'blood' remains *veri in all Finnic languages), explained as being through the mythical belief in blood carrying a person's mental and spiritual power. Toivonen (1944) suggests this as the primary original meaning.[2]

*hurma

1.  ? excitement, ecstacy, charm

• *hurmat'ak (“to stun, charm”)

• Estonian: urm (“blood, wound”)
• Finnish: hurma, hurme (“blood”)
  • → Estonian: hurm
• Ingrian: hurmahenki
• Karelian: (Northern, poetic) hurmeh (“blood”)
• Livonian: ūrma (“stream, flow”) (< 'flowing blood'?)

• urm in Metsmägi, Iris; Sedrik, Meeli; Soosaar, Sven-Erik (2012), Eesti etümoloogiasõnaraamat, Tallinn: Eesti Keele Instituut, →ISBN
• Itkonen, Erkki; Kulonen, Ulla-Maija, editors (1992–2000) Suomen sanojen alkuperä [The origin of Finnish words]‎ (in Finnish), [note: linked online version also includes some other etymological sources], Helsinki: Institute for the Languages of Finland/Finnish Literature Society, →ISBN