neiti

From Proto-Finnic *neiti, from Proto-Uralic *nejde (“girl, daughter”). Cognates with Estonian neid (“miss, girl”), Inari Sami nieidâ (“girl”), and Forest Enets [script needed] (nere-kétschu, “lass, female child”). Compare Proto-Uralic *näxi (“woman, female”) or *naje (“woman”). In this etymology, the lexeme neiti would have the same Proto-Uralic stem as nainen and naida.

• IPA^(key): /ˈnei̯ti/, [ˈne̞i̯t̪i]

• Audio:

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• Rhymes: -eiti
• Hyphenation^(key): nei‧ti

neiti

1. Miss (title of an unmarried woman)

   neiti Nieminen ― Miss Nieminen

2. Miss (polite form of address for a young female stranger; also used to address a female waiter but now somewhat dated in this sense)

   Neiti! Saisimmeko laskun?

   Waiter! May we have the bill, please?

3. miss, young lady (a young woman or girl, especially one of sophistication)
4. (informal, derogatory) girly, wimp (a mildly derogatory term for an effeminate, weak, or sensitive, person)

Archaic declension:

• neito
• neitsyt

• “neiti”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

• teini, tiine

From Proto-Finnic *neiti. Cognates include Finnish neiti and Estonian neid.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈnei̯ti/, [ˈne̞i̯tʲ]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈnei̯ti/, [ˈne̞i̯d̥i]
• Rhymes: -ei̯tʲ, -ei̯ti
• Hyphenation: nei‧ti

neiti

1. maid, maiden (girl or unmarried young woman)
   • 1915, Volmari Porkka, quoting Justiina, “777. Narvusi, Pärspää, II185”, in Väinö Salminen, editor, Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot. Länsi-Inkerin runot‎^[2], volume III1, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, lines 1-2:

     Neiti linnassa lässii, // Savoin maalla sairastelloo;

     A lass is sick in the city, // She was sick in the land of the Savos;

• piika, (folk poetic) neito

• (diminutive) neitsykkäin

• tyttö (“girl, lass”)

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 338