tähd

Tähd is not a standalone Finnish word in the lexicon sense. In Finnish grammar, it refers to the stem used to decline the noun tähti, which means star. The form features in inflected forms of tähti and is described in linguistic terms as the stem or root, rather than as a separate lexical item. This stem is the part that combines with various endings to create different grammatical cases and numbers.

Examples of how the stem appears in inflected forms include: nominative singular tähti, genitive singular tähden, and partitive singular tähteä. In the plural, the corresponding forms are tähdet (nominative plural), tähtien (genitive plural), and tähtiä (partitive plural). The stem also governs other case forms, showing how Finnish nouns use endings attached to the base to express meaning such as location, possession, and quantity.

In linguistic descriptions and dictionaries, tähtäimessä or similar terminology may be used to describe the inflectional pattern of tähti, with tähti serving as the lemma and tähd- as the underlying stem. The etymology of tähti traces to the Finnish language itself, with roots back to Proto-Finnic, and the word is connected to related terms for star across Finnic languages.

As a word, tähti functions in ordinary Finnish language to denote celestial bodies or metaphorical stars (e.g., famous persons or exemplary performers). The component "tähd-" is primarily of interest in the study of Finnish morphology and phonology, illustrating how a single stem can generate a wide range of grammatical forms through suffixation.