empiiriselle

empiiriselle is the allative singular form of the Finnish adjective empiirinen, meaning empirical. In Finnish, adjectives inflect to match the case, number, and definiteness of the noun they describe; when the head noun is in the allative case, the adjective also takes the allative ending, yielding forms such as empiiriselle. The base empiirinen comes from the noun empiiri, related to empirical evidence and knowledge derived from observation and experience.

Usage and function: empiiriselle is used to describe a noun in the allative case, typically indicating direction, reference, or relevance toward an empirical concept. Common collocations include empiiriselle lähestymistavalle (to an empirical approach) and empiiriselle tutkimukselle (to empirical research). The form is most likely to appear in academic or analytical Finnish, where precise case marking clarifies the relation between the modifier and the head noun.

Etymology: empiirinen is formed with the suffix -inen from the noun empiiri, which in turn relates to empiria or empirical practice. The allative ending -lle attaches to the adjective to produce empiiriselle when modifying a noun in the allative.

Notes: empiiriselle itself does not carry independent meaning beyond indicating “to/for the empirical [X]” in a phrase; its function is grammatical, showing agreement with the head noun in the allative case. Understanding empiiriselle requires recognizing Finnish adjective declension and the use of the allative case in attributive phrases. See also empiirinen, empiria, Finnish grammar, and the allative case.