elativissa

Elativissa is a linguistic term used to refer to the elative case, a grammatical category found in languages with rich case systems such as Finnish. The elative marks origin or source, indicating movement from within a place or from a substance. In grammar descriptions, elativissa is used as a label to describe a word or phrase that is in the elative case, for example a noun inflected to express “from X.”

In Finnish, the elative is typically formed with the suffix -sta or -stä, depending on vowel harmony, and can convey meanings like “from,” “out of,” or “off of.” Examples include talosta (from the house) and vedestä (from the water). These forms are often taught together with other spatial cases, such as inessive (within), adessive (on), and elative’s relatives in the same morphological system. Elativissa usage thus helps linguists and language learners describe the function of a noun phrase within a sentence, beyond its surface form.

Cross-linguistically, the elative concept exists in various languages, though its realization can differ. Some languages express source or origin with explicit prepositions rather than inflectional endings, while others rely on case endings akin to Finnish. The elative is typically studied alongside related cases such as the inessive, adessive, ablative, and allative as part of a broader spatial-case system.

See also: elative (case), Finnish grammar, Finno-Ugric languages, morphological case systems.