olettaa

Finnish

Etymology

ole- (“to be, exist”) +‎ -ttaa (causative aspect) — therefore, literally “to cause to exist”. Coined by Finnish physician and translator Wolmar Schildt in 1847. In the folk language, meanings like "to order, command" can be found in Western Finnish and "to put on airs" in Savonia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈoletːɑːˣ/,
• Rhymes: -oletːɑː
• Syllabification^(key): o‧let‧taa

Verb

olettaa (transitive)

1. to assume, suppose, presuppose
2. (logic) to premise, postulate
3. to hypothesize (in empiric research)

Usage notes

• olettaa has a slight sense of believing something with thoughts that it could not even be untrue. otaksua has, on the other hand, a slight sense that the speaker believes something, but still leaves some room for other possibilities about the state of affairs. otaksua also has a more formal nuance than olettaa and thus it is often translated into English as "presume".

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading

• “olettaa”, 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