kaadetut

Kaadetut is a Finnish term derived from the verb kaataa, meaning to topple, lay down, or felled. In standard Finnish, kaadettu is the past participle and kaadetut functions as the plural form used either as an attributive adjective or, less commonly, as a substantive. It translates roughly as “the fallen” or “the toppled/defeated ones.” In literal contexts it describes objects that have been felled, such as kaadetut puut (felled trees) or kaadetut patsaat (defaced statues). Metaphorically, it can refer to people or groups that have suffered defeat, particularly in historical or literary prose, though as a standalone noun it is relatively uncommon and more often appears together with a following noun or in the genitive form kaadettujen.

Grammar and usage notes: kaadetut is the plural form of the past participle kaadettu and is typically used with a noun (kaadetut puut, kaadetut rakennukset). When referring to “the fallen” as a group, Finnish writers may use kaadetut as a substantive, but more common constructions involve kaadettujen or a noun phrase such as kaadetut ihmiset (the fallen people) or kaadetut rakennukset (the toppled buildings). The term is primarily grammatical and stylistic rather than a distinct, widely recognized concept.

See also: kaataa, kaadettu, kaadettujen, fallen in Finnish literature.