neiti

Finnish

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *neiti, from Proto-Uralic *nejde (“girl, daughter”). Cognates with Estonian neid (“miss, girl”), Inari Sami nieidâ (“girl”), and Forest Enets (nere-kétschu, “lass, female child”). Compare Proto-Uralic *näxi (“woman, female”) or *naje (“woman”). In this etymology, the lexeme neiti would have the same Proto-Uralic stem as nainen and naida.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnei̯ti/,

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eiti
• Syllabification^(key): nei‧ti

Noun

neiti

1. Miss (title of an unmarried woman)

   neiti Nieminen ― Miss Nieminen

2. Miss (polite form of address for a young female stranger; also used to address a female waiter but now somewhat dated in this sense)

   Neiti! Saisimmeko laskun?

   Waiter! May we have the bill, please?

3. miss, young lady (a young woman or girl, especially one of sophistication)
4. (informal, derogatory) girly, wimp (a mildly derogatory term for an effeminate, weak, or sensitive, person)

Declension

Archaic declension:

Derived terms

Related terms

• neito
• neitsyt

Further reading

• “neiti”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

Anagrams

• teini, tiine

Ingrian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *neiti. Cognates include Finnish neiti and Estonian neid.

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈnei̯ti/,
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈnei̯ti/,
• Rhymes: -ei̯tʲ, -ei̯ti
• Hyphenation: nei‧ti

Noun

neiti

1. maid, maiden (girl or unmarried young woman)
   • 1915, Volmari Porkka, quoting Justiina, “777. Narvusi, Pärspää, II185”, in Väinö Salminen, editor, Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot. Länsi-Inkerin runot‎, volume III1, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, lines 1-2:

     Neiti linnassa lässii, // Savoin maalla sairastelloo;

     A lass is sick in the city, // She was sick in the land of the Savos;

Declension

Synonyms

• piika, (folk poetic) neito

Derived terms

• (diminutive) neitsykkäin

See also

• tyttö (“girl, lass”)

References

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 338