Finnish

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Etymology

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Derived from Proto-Finnic *viimä- (whence also viimeinen (last)), from Proto-Finno-Ugric *wiŋe-mä (same root *wiŋe as in viipyä (to stay)). The final vowel may be by analogy with viimein, viimeinen (note however the dialectal viimi, also found in Karelian viimi).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈʋiːme/, [ˈʋiːme̞]
  • IPA(key): /ˈʋiːmeˣ/, [ˈʋiːme̞(ʔ)] (now rare)
  • Rhymes: -iːme
  • Syllabification(key): vii‧me

Adjective

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viime (not comparable, indeclinable, only used attributively)

  1. last, past (most recent, last so far)
    Synonym: edellinen
    viime vuonnalast year
    viime kesänälast summer
  2. (chiefly in idioms) last, dying
    Synonyms: see viimeinen
    viime henkäyslast breath
    viime hetkilast moment
    Päivänvalon viime hetkinä huomasin purjeen horisontissa.
    In the dying moments of daylight I glimpsed a sail on the horizon.

Usage notes

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  • (last, past): viime is practically always relative to the present moment, and edellinen is used when the one preceding a past, future, or hypothetical instance is intended.

Declension

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Indeclinable

Derived terms

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Further reading

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