äiti

• äitee (dialectal)

From Proto-Finnic *äitei (compare Southern Ostrobothnian äitee, äiree), borrowed from Proto-Germanic *aiþį̄ (compare Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐌸𐌴𐌹 (aiþei)). The front vowel in the word could perhaps be explained by influence from baby talk (which has also been suggested as an alternative etymology, compare täti and baby speak äittä-äittä-tättä). The original word for "mother", emä (< Proto-Finnic *emä), is now only used for animals in Finnish but is used for humans in dialects and in other Finnic languages. Cognate with Estonian eit (“old woman”); Võro äide, äidi, ääde (“mother, grandmother”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈæi̯ti/, [ˈæi̯t̪i]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æiti
• Syllabification^(key): äi‧ti

äiti

1. mother (woman in relation to her children)
2. (childish) mother (animal mother)

   Synonyms: emo, emä

3. mother (woman in high position)

   Thatcheria alettiin ylistää kansakunnan äidiksi. ― Thatcher became lauded as “mother of the nation”.

4. mother (respectful title for a nun, usually one who has served for a long time or is the leader of nuns' community)
5. mother (origin)

   luontoäiti ― mother Nature

6. mother (mightiest of its kind)

   kaikkien taistelujen äiti ― mother of all battles

7. The letter Ä in the Finnish spelling alphabet.

The first declension (t-d gradation) is the more common one in standard Finnish. The second one (no gradation) is considered colloquial, but it can be used in standard Finnish to give the text a dialectal or childish nuance. The second declension is more common when referring to one's own mother.

• (slang) mutsi, mude
• (colloquial) äiskä, äippä, äitee
• (colloquial, childish) mamma, mami
• (archaic) emä

• isä

• “äiti”, 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 2023-07-01

• iäti