Vesilipun

Vesilipun is the genitive form of vesilippu, a Finnish compound noun formed from vesi 'water' and lipun (genitive of lippu) 'ticket' or 'flag.' In modern Finnish, vesilipun is not a common everyday term; the more typical word is vesilippu, used in specialized or historical contexts to indicate a token, permit, or signal related to water.

Historically, vesilipun has appeared in texts about water distribution and rationing. It could denote a voucher allowing the holder to draw a prescribed quantity of water from a public supply, a permission tied to a shared well, or a similar entitlement during times when access to water was regulated.

In contemporary usage, references to vesilipun are rare and typically confined to archival documents, legal records, or linguistic discussions of compounding. Some local or organizational systems may have used a concept akin to a water token for at-event hydration stations or for access to bottled-water services, but the exact Finnish terminology varies by institution.

In maritime or signaling traditions, lipun may also appear in phrases concerning flags and signals, and vesilippu-style terms can emerge in regional jargon to denote water-related signals, though such usage is not standardized across Finland.

Notes: Vesilipun is chiefly of interest to linguists and historians as an example of compound noun formation and historical terminology. See also vesilippu, vesi, lippu.