Eläkeaän

Eläkeaän is a Finnish verb form that derives from the infinitive eläkea, meaning "to retire" or "to go on pension." The form appeared in the early twentieth century in literary and spoken Finnish. It is a compound verb that combines the root elä- (from eläkösa, meaning "to live") with the suffix -ka, a negation or causative marker creating a sense of transformation into a new state. In modern Finnish, the standard present tense of the verb is eläkee, and the past tense is eläki. Eläkeaän is used primarily in older texts or idiomatic expressions, often to describe the act of stepping down from a position of active work or leaving one’s profession. The construction is grammatical but considered archaic in contemporary usage. It may appear in historical discussions of labour, military service, or civil service, where the transition to pension status is described. Linguists note that the form reflects a historical process of suffixation where -äärä was replaced by -ään in certain contexts. Contemporary Finnish speakers generally use pension related nouns such as eläkesääntö (pension rule) or eläkeläinen (pensioner) instead of the verb form. The word appears occasionally in literature to evoke a nostalgic or formal tone.