toituun

toituun is a Finnish verb form used primarily in the southern dialects of Finland. It is the part of the infinitive chain that is employed to express a state of becoming or being increased, especially in contexts concerning abundance, growth, or enhancement. In contemporary Standard Finnish, the equivalent would be extensions such as *kasvua* or *kasvaa*, but toituun retains a distinct regional flavor.

The verb is typically found in spoken language rather than in literary texts. It often appears in compound expressions like "kuningas toituun päällä" (the king is on the throne) or "sade toituun kyllä." In these instances the verb conveys a sense of being situated in a heightened position or condition rather than simply doing an action. While the surface meaning might appear similar to the regular verb *tuutua* (to grow, to become), toituun is considered a variant that stresses the resultant state rather than the dynamic process.

Etymologically, toituun is thought to derive from the Proto-Finnic root *toitu*, which originally meant "to grow" or "to rise." The suffix -un connotes the transformation into a state: from growing to being. Comparative studies with other Uralic languages, such as Estonian *tõsiväek*, show parallel developments. Because of its regional specificity, toituun is often studied in sociolinguistic surveys of southern Finnish speech.