Reconstruction:Proto-Finnic/-nci
Proto-Finnic
    
    Etymology
    
From Proto-Uralic *-mte. Cognates include Proto-Samic *-mtë, Hungarian -d.
Reconstruction
    
Most Finnic varieties have (1) lost the final vowel, and (2) simplified the consonant cluster to s or z in the nominative, but longer endings -ns, -si, -nsi are attested from a scattered number of varieties: Southeastern Finnish (Kymi region), the Hevaha dialect of Ingrian, and Veps, and a few parishes of Savo Finnish. Earlier *-ns is also required by Livonian kuolmõz (“third”) < *kolmaas (the expected reflex of *kolmas would be unattested ˣkuolmāz), by Eastern Finnish long-vowel endings such as kolmaas, and probably also diphthongized endings such as Livvi and Upper Luga Ingrian kolmais.
Setälä (1899: 365–366) suspects that shorter -s and longer *-nsi may have persisted for long as parallel free variants.
Suffix
    
*-nci
- Forms ordinal numbers from the corresponding cardinal.
Inflection
    
| Note: The Proto-Finnic declension system is yet to be reconstructed in detail. What is presented here is only one possibility. | |||
| singular | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | *-c | *-ndet | |
| accusative | *-nden | *-ndet | |
| genitive | *-nden | *-t'en *-nciden | |
| partitive | *-ttä | *-ncitä | |
| inessive | *-ndessä *-ndehnä | *-ncissä *-ncihnä | |
| elative | *-ndestä | *-ncistä | |
| illative | *-ntesen | *-ncisen | |
| adessive | *-ndellä | *-ncillä | |
| ablative | *-ndeltä | *-nciltä | |
| allative | *-ntelen *-ntelek | *-ncilen *-ncilek | |
| essive | *-nnä | *-ncinä | |
| translative | *-ndeksi | *-nciksi | |
| instructive | *-nden | *-ncin | |
| comitative | *-nnek | *-ncinek | |
| abessive | *-ndettä | *-ncittä | |
Descendants
    
References
    
- Hakulinen, Lauri. 1941–2000. Suomen kielen rakenne ja kehitys ('The Structure and Development of the Finnish Language'). Helsinki: Otava/Helsingin yliopisto.
- Setälä, E. N. 1899. Yhteissuomalainen äännehistoria. 1.–2. vihko. Konsonantit. ('Common Finnic historical phonology: Consonants'.) Helsinki.
External links
    
- Lauri Kettunen: Suomen murteet III A. Murrekartasto, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Helsinki 1940. Map #118: kolmas, kolmaas, kolmais jne.. (Online link http://kettunen.fnhost.org/html/kett118.html)
