Reconstruction:Proto-Finnic/-ma

This Proto-Finnic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Finnic

Etymology 1

From Proto-Uralic *-ma.

Suffix

*-ma / *-mä

1. Forms action/result nouns from verbs.
2. Mostly meaningless suffix added to some nominal stems.

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

Proto-Finnic terms suffixed with *-ma (action)

Descendants

• Estonian: -m
• Finnish: -ma
• Ingrian: -ma
• Karelian: -ma
• Veps: -m
• Võro: -m
• Votic: -ma

Etymology 2

From Proto-Uralic *-ma.

Suffix

*-ma / *-mä

1. Forms the gerund of verbs, generally only in certain case forms.
2. Forms the agent participle, which indicates that an action was done by something (in the genitive).

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

Gerund:

• Estonian: -ma (ma-infinitive) (gerund in inessive, elative, translative and abessive)
• Finnish: -ma (gerund (3rd infinitive) in inessive, elative, illative, adessive, abessive and instructive)
• Ingrian: -ma (gerund (3rd infinitive) in inessive, elative, illative and abessive)
• Võro: -ma (ma-infinitive)
• Votic: -ma (gerund in inessive, elative, illative and abessive)

Agent participle:

• Finnish: -ma

Etymology 3

Possibly an extension of the sense in Etymology 1, with the sense development "action" > "event" > "location of event" > "location".

Suffix

*-ma / *-mä

1. Forms names for places or locations.

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Finnish: -ma

Etymology 4

From Proto-Uralic *-ma(t).

Suffix

*-ma / *-mä

1. The first-person plural personal ending for verbs.

Usage notes

• Attached after a tense or mood marker. In the present indicative, this was *-k-; this led to gemination in practically all descendants (*-kmV > *-mmV), which was then widely extended by analogy to other tenses and moods as well.
• The final vowel was probably originally *-a/*-ä, and influenced in many descendants by the first-person plural personal pronoun *mek/*möö.

Descendants

• Estonian: -me
• Finnish: -mme (vowel influenced by me), (dialectal) -mma (Ostrobothnia, Lapland, Karelia), -ma (South Ostrobothnia, past; < *-i-ma)
• Ingrian: -mma
• Karelian:
  • North Karelian: -mma (present), -(i)ma (past; < *-i-ma)
  • South Karelian: -mma
• Livonian: -mõ, -m
• Livvi: -mmo
• Ludian: -mme
• Veps: -m
• Votic: -mma/-mmõ
• Võro: -m