isäntä

Isäntä is a Finnish noun meaning host, a master of a household, or the proprietor of property. It is also used in biology to denote a host organism in a host–parasite or host–symbiont relationship. The feminine form is emäntä, and the plurals are isännät and emännät. In everyday language, isäntä commonly refers to the person who hosts guests or runs a home, inn, or farm. In rural contexts, the phrase tilan isäntä is often used to describe the owner-manager of a farm or estate.

Etymology and forms: Isäntä is derived from isä, meaning father, with the agentive or nominalizing suffix -ntä. This historical sense emphasized the head or master of a household, a meaning that broadened over time to include hosts in social settings and property owners in agricultural contexts. The gendered pair is isäntä (masculine) and emäntä (feminine).

Usage notes: In modern Finnish, isäntä denotes the male host or master of the house, while emäntä denotes a female host or landlady. The terms are common in domestic and hospitality contexts. In scientific usage, isäntä is used to describe a host organism in a biological relationship, with related terms such as isäntäeläin referring to the host animal.

See also: isäntäeläin; host–parasite relationships.