titteleinä

Titteleinä is the essive plural form of the Finnish noun titteli, meaning “as titles.” In Finnish grammar the essive case expresses a temporary state or role, so titteleinä is used when several items are being referred to or designated in the form of titles rather than by other identifiers.

Morphology and usage notes: The singular essive form is tittelinä (as a title). The plural essive form titteleinä (as titles) indicates that multiple items are being described or labeled by their titles. This form is most commonly found in formal or cataloging contexts, rather than in everyday speech.

Contexts and functions: Titteleinä appears in bibliographic entries, exhibition catalogs, metadata records, and similar texts where items are listed or organized by their titles. It can be used to contrast labeling by titles with labeling by authors, dates, or other attributes. In practice, the use of titteleinä tends to be more common in written catalogs or scholarly articles than in casual language; in everyday Finnish, phrases like otsikoina or nimikkeinä are often preferred.

Examples: Teokset on lueteltu titteleinä. The works are listed as titles. Kokoelma esitellään titteleinä, ei tekijöiden mukaan. The collection is presented by titles rather than by authors.

Etymology and related terms: Titteleinä derives from titteli (title) with the essive plural suffix -nä, a form used to express “as X” for multiple items. Related terms include titteli (title), tittelit (titles, plural nominative), and otsikko (headline or title).