Tähdentämä

Tähdentämä is a Finnish term used to describe text, items, or annotations that have been marked with a star or asterisk. The word functions as both an adjective and a noun in different contexts and derives from the verb tähdentää, meaning to mark with a star.

Etymology and form: The root tähti means star, and tähdentää is the verb formed to indicate the action of placing a star symbol next to something. The form tähdentämä uses a nominalizing and adjectival suffix to denote something that has undergone that action—i.e., something that has been starred or flagged with a star. In practice, it appears in phrases such as tähdentämä teksti or tähdentämä merkintä, referring to content that has been star-marked.

Usage and context: Tähdentämä is most common in technical, editorial, or digital contexts, such as publishing, stylesheet guidance, or UI labeling, where a star or asterisk serves to indicate emphasis, importance, a note, or a item to review. In everyday Finnish, speakers often prefer more common constructions like “tähdellä merkitty” or “tähdellä merkattu,” but tähdentämä can be found in style guides, documentation, and lexical descriptions discussing the act or result of star-marking.

Examples: A document with several notes might include “tähdentämä huomautus,” meaning notes that have been marked with stars. A list item described as “tähdentämä merkintä” signals that it has a star indicator attached.

See also: tähti, tähdentää, tähdentäminen, asterisk, footnote.