ilosta

Ilosta is the elative case form of the Finnish noun ilo, which means “joy.” The elative case denotes movement from or origin, and in English is often rendered as “from joy” or “out of joy.” In Finnish, the elative suffix is -sta/-stä; for ilo, the singular form is ilosta, and the plural elative form is iloista.

As a grammatical form, ilosta is used to indicate that a state, feeling, or reaction originates from joy. It can appear in sentences that describe the source of emotion, or events perceived to arise from happiness. The use of the elative is one layer of Finnish case marking and interacts with other cases to convey nuance about origin, cause, or motivation.

The word ilo itself is a common noun in Finnish, referring to happiness, joy, or cheer. The elative ilosta is part of standard Finnish morphology and is found in both everyday language and more formal or literary contexts. Like other Finnish cases, ilosta shows how information about origin is encoded within a single word form rather than requiring prepositions or auxiliary words.

Etymology traces ilosta to the base noun ilo and the Finnish elative suffix -sta/-stä. It reflects the language’s productive system for expressing source or origin of a state or feeling. Related forms include the genitive ilon (of joy) and other case forms of ilo, such as ilossa (inessive: in joy) and ilolle (allative: to joy). See also ilo, Finnish grammar, and Finnish cases for broader context.