Probably from Proto-Germanic *finnaz. Compare Old Norse Finnr (“a Sami”), Latin Fenni. The name as used by Tacitus is unclear about whom it actually describes. More at Fenni.
Φῐ́ννος • (Phĭ́nnos) m (genitive Φῐ́ννου); second declension
The Latin Fennus (as mentioned by Tacitus) and the Ancient Greek term Φίννος (Phínnos) (as mentioned by Ptolemy) have ambiguous ancient meanings. The Finnish and broader Baltic Finnic peoples as they are known today were not well documented at the time, and it is unlikely that Φίννος (Phínnos) refers to them specifically. Rather, the term more likely referred to the Sami people (who at the time occupied most of what is now Finland), or more vaguely to far northern Europeans in general.
However, Finns as an ethnicity became far better documented (especially in Viking chronicles) during the Middle Ages. Today, the modern Greek term Φίννος (Fínnos) specifically refers to the Finnish people.
Case / # | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | ὁ Φῐ́ννος ho Phĭ́nnos |
τὼ Φῐ́ννω tṑ Phĭ́nnō |
οἱ Φῐ́ννοι hoi Phĭ́nnoi | ||||||||||
Genitive | τοῦ Φῐ́ννου toû Phĭ́nnou |
τοῖν Φῐ́ννοιν toîn Phĭ́nnoin |
τῶν Φῐ́ννων tôn Phĭ́nnōn | ||||||||||
Dative | τῷ Φῐ́ννῳ tôi Phĭ́nnōi |
τοῖν Φῐ́ννοιν toîn Phĭ́nnoin |
τοῖς Φῐ́ννοις toîs Phĭ́nnois | ||||||||||
Accusative | τὸν Φῐ́ννον tòn Phĭ́nnon |
τὼ Φῐ́ννω tṑ Phĭ́nnō |
τοὺς Φῐ́ννους toùs Phĭ́nnous | ||||||||||
Vocative | Φῐ́ννε Phĭ́nne |
Φῐ́ννω Phĭ́nnō |
Φῐ́ννοι Phĭ́nnoi | ||||||||||
Notes: |
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