List of English words of Finnish origin
Encyclopedia
The Finnish language
has lent few word
s to the English language
, the Finn language is rather a net importer of words.
However the following words of Finnish origin
are some examples:
, and has been lent to many other languages.
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
has lent few word
Word
In language, a word is the smallest free form that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content . This contrasts with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own...
s to the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, the Finn language is rather a net importer of words.
However the following words of Finnish origin
Culture of Finland
The culture of Finland combines indigenous heritage, as represented for example by the country's Uralic national language Finnish, and the sauna, with common Nordic and European culture. Because of its history and geographic location Finland has been influenced by the adjacent areas' various...
are some examples:
Widespread
The most commonly used Finnish word in English is saunaSauna
A sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....
, and has been lent to many other languages.
Specialized
Words derived from Finnish used in more specialized fields:- Rapakivi graniteRapakivi graniteRapakivi granite is a hornblende-biotite granite containing large rounded crystals of orthoclase mantled with oligoclase. The name has come to be used most frequently as a textural term where it implies plagioclase rims around orthoclase in plutonic rocks...
- a graniteGraniteGranite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
rockRock (geology)In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
in PetrologyPetrologyPetrology is the branch of geology that studies rocks, and the conditions in which rocks form.... - palsaPalsathumb|right|300px|A group of well developed palsas as seen from abovePalsas are low, often oval, frost heaves occurring in polar and subpolar climates, which contain permanently frozen ice lenses...
- low, often oval, frost heaves occurring in polarPolar- Science, technology, and mathematics :*Polar , a satellite launched by NASA in 1996*Polar , a strongly magnetic cataclysmic variable star system...
and subpolar climates - aapa mire - a marshMarshIn geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
type, in biology
Cultural
In English, Finnish words used with reference to the Finnish culture, but not nativized in English and not used in other contexts:- sisuSisuSisu is a Finnish term loosely translated into English as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity. However, the word is widely considered to lack a proper translation into any language. Sisu has been described as being integral to understanding...
- the Finnish state of mind about strong character and 'grim forbearance,' has been documented in English since at least 1940. - kanteleKanteleA kantele or kannel is a traditional plucked string instrument of the zither family native to Finland, Estonia, and Karelia. It is related to the Russian gusli, the Latvian kokle and the Lithuanian kanklės. Together these instruments make up the family known as Baltic psalteries...
- a Finnish zitherZitherThe zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China... - motti - a Finnish military tactic
- SalmiakkiSalmiakkiSalty liquorice, also known as salmiak or salmiakki is a variety of liquorice flavoured with ammonium chloride, common in Netherlands, Nordic Countries, Baltic States and Northern Germany. Ammonium chloride gives salty liquorice an astringent, salty taste , which has been described as...
- a salty liquorice and popular Finnish candy
See also
- List of English words of Sami origin
- Finnish nameFinnish nameIn Finland, a person must have a surname and 1–3 first names. Surnames are usually inherited patrilineally, while first names are usually chosen by a person's parents. Finnish names come from a variety of dissimilar traditions that were consolidated only in the early 20th century. The first...
- FinglishFinglishThe term Finglish was introduced by professor Martti Nisonen in 1920s in Hancock, Michigan to describe a linguistic phenomenon he encountered in America. As the term describes, Finglish is a mixture of English and Finnish. In Finglish the English lexical items are nativized and inserted into the...
- Finnish exonymsFinnish exonymsBelow is list of Finnish language exonyms for towns and cities in non-Finnish-speaking areas:-Cyprus :*Ammochostos-Gazimağusa Famagusta*Lefkosía-Lefkoşa Nikosia-Denmark :*København Kööpenhamina*Jylland Jyllanti, Juutinmaa...