Vuosisataa

Vuosisataa is the partitive singular form of the Finnish noun vuosisata, which means a century or a period of one hundred years. The term denotes a span of a hundred years and is commonly used when referring to centuries in historical or chronological contexts. In everyday Finnish, vuosisata is used for the singular form, while vuosisatat is the nominative plural.

Etymology and composition: vuosisata is a compound built from vuosi (year) and sata (hundred). The concept expresses a time period equivalent to one hundred years and is used to categorize long stretches of history, such as the 19th, 20th, or 21st centuries.

Usage and grammar: vuosisataa is the partitive singular form and appears after numerals or other words that govern the partitive case, for example kaksisataavan or kaksi vuosisataa (two centuries). The definite ordinal form for naming centuries is typically 21. vuosisata for the 21st century. The partitive plural form is vuosisatoja, used in phrases like useita vuosisatoja (several centuries) or monia vuosisatoja.

Context and significance: In Finnish, vuosisata and its forms function to express chronological scales in history, archaeology, and cultural studies. The term helps distinguish century-length periods from shorter units such as decades or years and is commonly encountered in academic writing, education, and media discussions of time periods.

See also: Century, Calendar eras, Finnish grammar.