isännästä

Isännästä is the elative singular form of the Finnish noun isäntä, meaning host, master of the house, or innkeeper. In Finnish grammar, the elative (elatiivi) case expresses source, origin, or topic and is used after certain verbs or prepositions. The form is used regardless of the host’s gender and can indicate something spoken about, taken from, or related to the host.

In practice, isännästä is most often found in constructions where the host is the topic or source of information. Common usages include phrases with puhua or kertoa, such as puhua isännästä ('to talk about the host') and isännästä on puhuttu paljon ('there has been a lot of talk about the host'). It can also appear in passive or impersonal statements like Isännästä on kirjoitettu paljon ('There has been a lot written about the host').

The word is part of a broader set of references to the host or household figure, including emäntä (female host/hostess) and isännän/genitive forms used in possessive constructions. In rental or service contexts, isäntä can still denote the landlord or principal host of a establishment, with isännästä meaning something originating from or concerning that landlord.

Etymologically, isäntä historically means the master or head of a household and is related to the word isä (father) through old Finnish usage. The elative form is a standard grammatical variation for signaling source or topic, rather than a change in meaning of isäntä itself.