väki

From Proto-Finnic *väki, from Proto-Finno-Ugric *wäke (“power, strength”). Cognates include Ludic, Veps and Estonian vägi, Votic vätši, Livonian vä'g, Udmurt ви (vi), and Khanty вӛй (wə̂j).

The sense "power, strength" nowadays only exists in some compounds and derivatives, such as väkivalta (“violence”), väkijuoma (“alcoholic beverage”), väkevä (“strong”), and väkisin (“forcefully”). A transitional sense exists in e.g. sotaväki, which can be thought to mean either military power or the people in the army; such words may have facilitated the change in meaning.[1]

väki

1. (singular) people, crowd
2. (archaic, also as modifier in compound terms) power, strength, force

• adjectives: väkevä, -väkinen, väkinäinen
• nouns: väestö
• adverbs: väkisellä, väkisin, väen väkisin, väkisten

• kävi

From Proto-Finnic *väki, from Proto-Finno-Ugric *wäke (“power, strength”).

väki

1. people