Perkele () is a Finnish word meaning "

evil spirit Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is generally ...

" and a popular

Finnish profanity Profanity in Finnish is used in the form of intensifiers, adjectives, adverbs and particles. There is also an aggressive mood that involves omission of the negative verb ' while implying its meaning with a swear word.Eero Voutilainen. ''.'' K ...

, used similarly to English " god damn", although it is considered much more profane. It is most likely the most internationally known Finnish curse word.

Origins

The name is of Indo-European origin;

Perkwunos (Proto-Indo-European: ', 'the Striker' or 'the Lord of Oaks') is the reconstructed name of the weather god in Proto-Indo-European mythology. The deity was connected with fructifying rains, and his name probably invoked in times of drought. In a ...

is the reconstructed name of the god of thunder. Some researchers consider ''Perkele'' to be an original name of the thunder god

Ukko Ukko (), Äijä or Äijö ( Finnish for 'male grandparent', 'grandfather', 'old man'), parallel to Uku in Estonian mythology, is the god of the sky, weather, harvest and thunder in Finnish mythology. Ukkonen, the Finnish word for thunder, ...

, the chief god of the Finnish pagan pantheon, but this view is not shared by all researchers. There are related words in other Finnic languages: in Estonian, ''põrgu'' means

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

, in Karelian ''perkeleh'' means an

Introduction of Christianity

As Finland was

Christianized Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

, the old Finnish deities were regarded as demons. This led to the use of "''Perkele''" as a translation for "Devil" in the Finnish translation of the Bible. Later, in other translations, the word was rendered as ''paholainen'' (the evil one).

References

{{Reflist Finnish gods Thunder gods Profanity Finnish language Internet memes