toimintaperiaatteena

Toimintaperiaatteena is a Finnish adverbial/essive form of the compound noun toimintaperiaate, literally meaning "operating principle" or "principle of operation." In this form (-na/-nä), it is used to indicate that something functions or is adopted "as an operating principle" or "in the capacity of a guiding principle."

Morphology and grammar: toimintaperiaate combines toiminta ("activity, operation") and periaate ("principle"). The suffix -na/-nä marks the essive case, which expresses a temporary state, role, or manner ("as" or "in the role of"). Thus toimintaperiaatteena corresponds to English constructions like "as a principle of operation" or "as an operating principle."

Usage: The word appears frequently in technical texts, organizational documents, policy statements and academic writing to describe an adopted rule, method or guiding approach. Typical contexts include descriptions of device function ("Laitteen toimintaperiaatteena on..."), corporate values ("Yrityksen toimintaperiaatteena pidetään..."), or methodological statements in research. It emphasizes the role or status of the principle rather than its permanence.

Translations and equivalents: Common English renderings are "as an operating principle," "as a principle of operation," or simply "as a principle." Related Finnish terms include toimintatapa (method/practice) and periaatteena (as a principle). Example: "Yrityksen toimintaperiaatteena on läpinäkyvyys" — "The company's operating principle is transparency."