leikkisältä

Leikkisältä is a Finnish grammatical form, namely the elative case of the adjective leikkisä, meaning "from the playful." It serves to indicate the source or origin of a quality, information, or action in a noun phrase. As a derived form, leikkisältä is commonly used in narrative or descriptive prose to attribute something to a source characterized by playfulness or a light, mischievous mood.

Etymology and grammar: The base adjective leikkisä comes from leikki (play) with the suffix -sä, forming an adjective meaning playful. The elative suffix -ltä/-ltä is appended to the adjective stem, producing leikkisältä. In use, it modifies a following noun, typically a person or entity described as playful, or it marks the source of what is described (for example, information, advice, or a remark).

Usage and examples: Leikkisältä kuultu tarina refers to a story heard from someone who is playful or known for a playful disposition. Leikkisältä annettu ohje means advice that was given by the playful party. The construction is relatively formal and more common in written prose or careful narration than in everyday speech. It can also appear in idiomatic phrases when the speaker wants to emphasize the source’s character rather than a concrete person.

Notes: Leikkisältä can be ambiguous if the context does not clarify who or what is being described as "playful." It is one of several elative forms used with adjectives to express origin or source in Finnish grammar, alongside other adjective elatives with different stems.

See also: Finnish grammar, elative case, adjectives in Finnish.