Kommentaarin

Kommentaarin is the genitive singular form of the Finnish noun kommentaar, which means commentary, annotation, or explanatory note attached to a text. The genitive form is used to indicate possession or association with the commentary, as in “kommentaarin mukaan” meaning “according to the commentary.” In practice, kommentaarin can refer to either a brief marginal note or a longer analytic discussion that accompanies the primary text.

Etymology: Kommentaar originates from the international term commentaire, with loanword entry into Finnish likely via Swedish or German. The form kommentaar is common in academic, editorial, and legal language, where it designates material that explains, interprets, or contextualizes a text.

Usage: In scholarly editions, a kommentaar provides interpretation, historical context, terminology explanations, and cross references. In legal literature, lakikommentaarit or other commentaries accompany statutes to explain meaning and application. In broader writing, a kommentaar may appear as an explanatory passage or marginal notes that help readers understand the text.

Relation to related terms: Kommentaar is distinct from a simple note (huomautus) or an explicit explanation (selitys). It is often more analytical and extensive, and it is closely associated with scholarly annotation and editorial commentary. The term is widely used across disciplines to denote material that adds interpretive or contextual information to a source.