työlä

Työlä is a Finnish noun that historically referred to a person who performs work, effectively meaning a worker or laborer. In modern standard Finnish the term is uncommon and largely considered archaic or dialectal. Today, the words työläinen, työntekijä, or työväestö are used to describe a worker or the working class.

Etymology and usage of työlä are not fully settled in contemporary sources. It is generally regarded as an older form derived from työ, the word for work, with a now-obsolete agentive or collective suffix. The form appears in 19th- and early 20th-century texts, including some dialect writings and older dictionaries. As Finnish language norms were standardized, työlä fell out of regular use.

Present-day relevance is mainly historical or linguistic. Työlä is encountered when quoting historical sources or when illustrating older word-formation patterns in Finnish. It may also appear in discussions of dialectal vocabulary or language history as an example of how agent-noun formations once functioned.

In summary, työlä is a historical Finnish term for a worker that is rarely used today outside scholarly or literary contexts. Modern Finnish tends to prefer työläinen, työntekijä, or the broader term työväestö to convey the same idea. See also työd; työläinen; työ.