leimaksi

Leimaksi is a Finnish linguistic term used to describe the translative form of the noun leima, which means stamp or seal. In Finnish grammar, the translative case expresses a change of state or role, and leimaksi can be interpreted as “as a stamp” or “into a stamp” in descriptive analyses. The form is formed by taking the base noun and adding the translative suffixes associated with Finnish morphology, in this case yielding leimaksi to signify a functional or transformative use.

The term appears primarily in descriptive grammars, academic discussions of Finnish morphology, and typological comparisons of Uralic languages. It is not common in everyday spoken Finnish, where speakers typically rely on more basic constructions to express function or role. As a specialized label, leimaksi helps linguists illustrate how nouns can acquire new semantic functions through inflection and how the translative case can signal a change in the object’s purpose or status.

In related terminology, leima refers to a stamp or seal, leimaus to stamping or impression, and translatiivinen tapaus (translative case) describes a broader inflectional category that conveys transformation. Leimaksi thus functions as a pointed example within Finnish grammar of how form and meaning interact in inflection.

See also: leima, leimaus, translatiivinen tapaus, Finnish grammar.