kuningas

From Proto-Finnic *kuningas, from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkuninɡ̊ɑs/

kuningas (genitive kuninga, partitive kuningat)

1. king
2. king (chess)

From Proto-Finnic *kuningas, borrowed from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz. As Finnish seems to be a very phonologically conservative language (i.e., it usually retains the phonological structure of the language from which it borrows a word), the Finnish word very nearly preserves the nominative singular case maker reconstructed for Proto-Germanic masculine a-stems. Furthermore, the *-az ending corresponds exactly to the *-os ending reconstructable for Proto-Indo-European masculine o-stems, as PIE short a and o fell together in Germanic and /s/ became voiced in this unstressed position, in accordance with Verner's law.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkuniŋːɑs/, [ˈkuniŋːɑs̠]
• Hyphenation: ku‧nin‧gas

kuningas

1. king
   • 1967, Helge Pohjolan-Pirhonen, Kansakunnan Historia, volume 2: “Kansakunta etsii itseään: 1772–1808” (W. Söderström), page 70

     Tällainen epämiellyttävien totuuksien lausuja alkoi käydä epämukavaksi kuninkaan palvontaan omistautuneessa hovimaailmassa.

     This kind of utterer of unpleasant truths started to become inconvenient for a court devoted to basileiolatry.

2. (chess, card games) king

   patakuningas = king of spades

Note also the literary genitive plural form kuningasten.

• kunkku
• (in games): kurko

• kuningatar
• kuninkaallinen

• korttipakka

Chess pieces in Finnish · šakkinappula, shakkinappula (layout · text)
kuningas	kuningatar	torni	lähetti	ratsu	sotilas