pääsanaja

Pääsanaja is a Finnish term that literally translates to "main word" or "headword." In linguistics and lexicography, it refers to the primary form of a word that appears in a dictionary entry. This is the word that is looked up and defined. For example, in the dictionary entry for "running," the pääsanaja would be "run." The pääsanaja is typically presented in its base or dictionary form, such as the infinitive for verbs, the nominative singular for nouns, and the nominative singular for adjectives.

The concept of pääsanaja is crucial for organizing and accessing lexical information. Dictionaries are structured around these headwords, allowing users to find the meaning, grammatical information, and usage examples for a particular word. The choice of pääsanaja can sometimes be a matter of convention or linguistic analysis, especially for words with complex inflections or irregular forms. In Finnish, this often means presenting the verb in its infinitive form or the noun in its nominative singular. Understanding the pääsanaja helps in systematically studying vocabulary and grammar.