Finn

How to spell finn

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce finn

What does finn mean?

1. nounA native or inhabitant of Finland.

Finn in a sentence

• Her grandfather was a finn who emigrated from Helsinki.

• Every finn at the conference spoke fluent English as well as their own language.

Where does finn come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word ultimately comes from the Old English Finnas, the name early English speakers gave to the peoples living in the far north of Europe, in what is now Finland and Lapland. The form is Germanic in origin and is recorded in very early sources, including the Old English poem Widsith and the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, who called them the Fenni. The literal meaning of the original root is uncertain, though it may relate to wandering or to a finder of food, since these were mobile hunting peoples. The same element survives in the country name Finland, which simply joins Finn to land. The doubled n is the key spelling trap, because it sets the word apart from its homophone fin, the swimming flap of a fish, which has only one n.

How the word is built

• finn (from Old English Finnas, the name of the people of the north)
• no affix (a base noun)

Words that sound like finn

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• fin: A thin, flat projecting part used by a fish, swimmer, vehicle, or aircraft to steer or stabilise.