Can anyone tell me what a 'lumoajatar' is?

[LilyOfTheValley]

Hey/Moi guys!

Can you tell me what 'lumoajatar' means? Google translates 'lumo' as enchantment and Wikipedia told me that the 'ajatar' is an 'evil female spirit that manifests as a snake or dragon'.
So, did he just call me an 'enchanting evil spirit' or is that term actually used with another connotation in finnish?

Thanks in advance!

[MikeD]

Lumota - to enchant
Lumoajatar - enchantress

Simple as that.

[Upphew]

-tar/-tär makes it a female of it's kind:
tarjoilijatar
näyttelijätär
ompelijatar
tanssijatar
opettajatar

kind of archaic, but still widely(ish) used

[LilyOfTheValley]

Thanks alot!
Good to hear he didn't call me a fiendish spirit.

[sammy]

Can you tell me what 'lumoajatar' means? Google translates 'lumo' as enchantment and Wikipedia told me that the 'ajatar' is an 'evil female spirit that manifests as a snake or dragon'.
So, did he just call me an 'enchanting evil spirit' or is that term actually used with another connotation in finnish?

Goes to show non-natives occasionally spot "fancy connotations" that one hasn't come to think about before...

Actually, I think the -ajatar is just a coincidence (albeit one that rather suits well in this connection )... I believe the more common spelling for the word would be lumoojatar.

However, check out the second clip in this potpourri of old tv adverts...

[Rob A.]

Can you tell me what 'lumoajatar' means? Google translates 'lumo' as enchantment and Wikipedia told me that the 'ajatar' is an 'evil female spirit that manifests as a snake or dragon'.
So, did he just call me an 'enchanting evil spirit' or is that term actually used with another connotation in finnish?

Goes to show non-natives occasionally spot "fancy connotations" that one hasn't come to think about before...

Actually, I think the -ajatar is just a coincidence (albeit one that rather suits well in this connection )... I believe the more common spelling for the word would be lumoojatar......

.... Yes....these "fancy connotations"....I seem to regularly see things in Finnish words that ....well..."just aren't there", from the perspective of a native speaker.......

Finnish surnames give me good translation practice....and sometimes a little bit of humour.... Like this one I spotted at a crafts market in Vancouver last year......Ojanen...."Little Ditch".... Or Hautamäki..."Gravehill"....

Of course, even a minimal knowledge of how European surnames came into being can easily explain many names.... Which is why whether English, French, or Finnish, two people can have the same surname and no apparent genetic connection....other than simply being two human beings. And, of course, native speakers would never take notice of any of this....just as in English I seldom give any thought to apparently "amusing" English surnames.... But it's still fun for a language learner...

[Rob A.]

-tar/-tär makes it a female of it's kind:
tarjoilijatar
näyttelijätär
ompelijatar
tanssijatar
opettajatar

kind of archaic, but still widely(ish) used

So, then, is it more likely in current sueage to drop the -tar ending?.... And just have unisex labels???....

In modern English, a whole range of feminine endings has largely been dropped:

"actress"..."actor"
"aviatrix"..."aviator"
"authoress"..."author" ...and on and on...

Though some remain....probably reflecting "ossified" useage such as with that archaic and, similarly, "ossified" institution....royalty:

"prince"/"princess", "duke"/"duchess"
...and on a slightly different vein..."king" and "queen".... Traditionally there has been such a distinction between male and female roles in "royal cricles" that these likely will never change....and I suspect that will be the same in Finnish....kuningas/kuningatar....prinssi/prinsessa"....

[EP]

So, then, is it more likely in current sueage to drop the -tar ending?

Yes. A hundred years ago an actress would have been "näyttelijätär" and an actor "näyttelijä". Now everyone is just "näyttelijä".

Then there are some titles that are 100% male like Speaker of the parliament --> Eduskunnan puheMIES. When Finland´s parliament had its first female head, she was also called puheMIES.

About surnames, ones like Ojanen and Hautamäki, a native speaker does not even think literal meanings, they are just so obviously names.

[kalmisto]

I used to read a lot of fairy tales when I was a child. I remember that in many of those stories there was an evil female character called "Syöjätär ( "Eateress" ). I remember that she liked to eat little children :

http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sy%C3%B6j%C3%A4t%C3%A4r

syödä = to eat
syöjä = eater
"Syöjätär" = "Eateress"

Google translates "Syöjätär" to "Harpy" :
http://translate.google.com/#fi|en|Sy%C ... A4t%C3%A4r

[sammy]

Google translates "Syöjätär" to "Harpy" :
http://translate.google.com/#fi|en|Sy%C ... A4t%C3%A4r

Harpy = also "harpyija" in Finnish > http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpyijat

...but 'syöjätär' can also refer to 'man-eater' ... a woman who eats men, figuratively (actually in some cases this might include the literally as well, if... oh well )

[LilyOfTheValley]

...but 'syöjätär' can also refer to 'man-eater' ... a woman who eats men, figuratively (actually in some cases this might include the literally as well, if... oh well )

NOW we're talking! THAT's what he was referring to! Damn, why didn't I think of that myself?

Kidding of course. Sorry, just had to!

[tuulen]

Goddess: Suvetar