päätteisen

Päätteinen is a Finnish linguistic term meaning suffixal or ending-based. It is formed from the stem päätte- meaning “ending, suffix” and the adjectival suffix -inen, producing an adjective used to describe morphology that relies on attaching endings to a word stem. In linguistic descriptions, päätteinen characterizes forms that are produced primarily through suffixation.

In usage, päätteinen describes systems where grammatical information is encoded mainly by endings, rather than by prefixes or internal vowel changes. This is common in many languages with rich inflection or agglutinative morphology, including Finnish itself and many other language families. As a descriptive label, it helps distinguish suffix-based word formation from other morphological strategies and from more analytic or periphrastic constructions.

Examples often cited in Finnish linguistic practice illustrate suffixal formation rather than individual words. For instance, many Finnish nouns and adjectives change form through a series of endings to indicate case, number, possessive, and other grammatical relations, producing suffixal forms such as talossa (in the house) or talon (of the house). Such patterns exemplify päätteinen morphology, where endings attach to a base to create new grammatical meanings.

Etymology and usage notes: päätteinen derives from päätte- “ending, suffix” with the typical Finnish adjectival suffix -inen. The genitive form päätteisen is used in phrases like päätteisen muodon tutkimus, “the study of the suffixal form.” The term appears primarily in Finnish linguistic literature and is commonly translated as “suffixal” or “suffix-based” in cross-linguistic discussions. See also: suffix, affix, morphology, inflection, agglutination.