Etymology

maalis- +‎ kuu (“month”). There are two theories regarding the origin of the name. The first posits that the first word is derived from maallinen (“earthly, earthen”), as in “March, the month the snow begins to melt to show the first spots of bare earth”. The other states that, while there has been influence from maa, it actually derives from mahla (“(tree) sap”) (compare Võro mahlakuu (“April”)). Neither of these theories is certain, however, as both have their own phonetic problems.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmɑːlisˌkuː/, [ˈmɑ̝ːlis̠ˌkuː]
  • Rhymes: -uː
  • Hyphenation(key): maalis‧kuu

Noun

maaliskuu

  1. March (month)

Usage notes

  • “in March” is expressed with the inessive case (maaliskuussa).

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