esikirjoitettuna

Esikirjoitettuna is a Finnish linguistic term that literally translates to “written beforehand” or “as written”. It is used chiefly in legal, bureaucratic and formal contexts to indicate that a particular statement, condition or document has already been written and is being referred to in the present. The word is formed from the prefix esi‑, meaning “before”, and the past‐participle form of kirjoittaa, “to write”, which is kirjoitettuna, “written”.

In Finnish law the term esikirjoitettuna appears, for instance, in agreements and statutes to express that a clause has been drafted beforehand and is now cited for its contents. It is also applied in parliamentary debates when a resolution or a ministerial decree is described as esikirjoitettuna to stress that the wording is already fixed and not subject to further amendment at that stage. The concept serves to distinguish between draft (suunniteltu) material and finalized text.

The term is used beyond legal contexts in professional writing, such as in archival language. Archivists might refer to records as esikirjoitettuna to show that the document has been formally recorded and preserved according to statutory procedures. In academic publishing, a manuscript that has been previously submitted and acknowledged as a pre‑written draft can be identified as esikirjoitettuna in footnotes or acknowledgements.

Overall, esikirjoitettuna is a precise marker of textual status in Finnish bureaucratic and formal discourse, underscoring the pre‑established nature of particular written material.