juoja

Juoja is a Finnish noun derived from the verb juoda ("to drink") using the common agent suffix -ja, typically meaning "one who drinks." In standard Finnish, juoja is rare and principally appears in dialectal or historical texts; it can denote a drinker in a literal sense, without strong moral evaluation, although more modern terms such as juoppo or alkoholisti are used for habitual drinking.

Because the word is not common in contemporary speech, it is seldom found in modern dictionaries outside specialized or historical contexts. In literature and folklore, juoja can be used to evoke a character connected to drinking rituals or to mark someone who participates in social drinking, with the exact sense depending on the author’s intent. Its usage tends to be regionally varied and context dependent.

Etymology and form: juoja follows the Finnish agent-noun pattern with the suffix -ja, formed from the verb juoda. The word thus reflects a conventional method of creating nouns that name the doer of an action. The semantic field is primarily determined by context, and the term is largely of historical or regional interest rather than a standard everyday label.

See also: Finnish language; juoda; juoppo; alkoholisti; agent noun.