Määräaikalaiset

Määräaikalaiset is a Finnish term that appears in limited scholarly and historical texts to describe people associated with a fixed term or duration. It is not a standard category in Finnish sociology or law, and its precise meaning varies depending on the author and the context in which it is used.

The word is formed from määräaika, meaning fixed term or time limit, combined with the suffix -lainen, which denotes a group of people or a particular type. The term thus roughly translates to "people of the fixed term" or "those bound by a defined period."

In some writings, määräaikalaiset may refer to individuals serving a defined period in a program or service—such as military conscripts, temporary workers with fixed contracts, or participants in time-limited projects. Because the term is not standardized, its scope is determined by the source using it. It can also be used metaphorically to discuss temporariness in society. In contemporary Finnish, the word is seldom used outside specialized texts.