Ossi

Finnish

Etymology

From a diminutive of Ossian, Oskari and Osmo; possibly in eastern Finland also of Joosef (compare Russian Осип (Osip)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈosːi/,
• Rhymes: -osːi
• Syllabification^(key): Os‧si

Proper noun

Ossi

1. a male given name
2. a Finnish surname transferred from the given name

Declension

Statistics

• Ossi is the 111^th most common male given name in Finland, belonging to 5,897 male individuals (and as a middle name to 1,256 more), according to February 2023 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.
• The surname Ossi belongs to 122 individuals, according to February 2023 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.

German

Etymology

Originally a humorous reinterpretation of English Aussie (“Australian person”) based on German Osten (“east”) +‎ -i. The English word is not widely known in Germany, however.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔsi/ (normal)
• IPA^(key): /ˈɔzi/, /ˈœzi/ (with a mock East German accent; more pejorative)

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

Ossi m (strong, genitive Ossis or Ossi, plural Ossis) or
Ossi (referring to a female) f (genitive Ossi, plural Ossis)

1. (colloquial, possibly mildly offensive, Germany) Easterner; a person from (former) East Germany; now sometimes including West Berlin

   Synonyms: Ostdeutscher; Ostmann; (historical) DDR-Bürger

   Coordinate term: Wessi

Declension

Derived terms

• Ossiland

Related terms

• Osten

See also

• -i
• DDR
• Ostdeutschland
• Wessi
• Zoni

Further reading

• “Ossi” in Duden online
• “Ossi” in Duden online
• “Ossi” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache