From Proto-Finnic *vërha (“cloth”). Cognates include Finnish verho (“curtain”) and Votic võra (“offering”).
The semantic shift from "cloth" > "offering" refers to a particular offering performed by the sick, which involved throwing a towel into a well.
verha
| Declension of verha (type 3/kana, no gradation) | ||
|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | |
| nominative | verha | verhat |
| genitive | verhan | verhoin |
| partitive | verhaa | verhoja |
| illative | verhaa | verhoi |
| inessive | verhaas | verhois |
| elative | verhast | verhoist |
| allative | verhalle | verhoille |
| adessive | verhaal | verhoil |
| ablative | verhalt | verhoilt |
| translative | verhaks | verhoiks |
| essive | verhanna, verhaan | verhoinna, verhoin |
| exessive1) | verhant | verhoint |
| 1) obsolete *) the accusative corresponds with either the genitive (sg) or nominative (pl) **) the comitative is formed by adding the suffix -ka? or -kä? to the genitive. | ||