List of encyclopedias in Finnish
This is a list of encyclopedias in Finnish.
The standard Finnish word for "encyclopedia" is tietosanakirja, literally a "knowledge word-book", or "knowledge dictionary". The adjectives iso and suuri may be somewhat interchangeably understood as "big", "great", or "large". Historically, the three main publishers of encyclopedias in Finnish have been Otava, WSOY (Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö, in 2011 acquired by Bonnier Group), and Weilin+Göös (in 1995 acquired by WSOY).
- Printed (paper)
- Digital (online)
- Both*
*This usually means that volumes of the encyclopaedia were originally printed on paper, but at some point (usually in the 1990s or early 2000s), the encyclopaedia has been digitised and made available in whole or in part in electronic form (usually online, but not necessarily). New entries may or may not be added, while old entries (originally printed) may or may not be updated. Usually, publication of paper-printed editions has been discontinued.
| Title in Finnish | Meaning in English | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Facta & Facta 2001 | Facta & Facta 2001 | 1969–2007 (print) 1994–2011 (CD-ROM/online)[1][2] |
| Factum. Uusi tietosanakirja | Factum. New Encyclopaedia | 2003–2005 |
| Iso tietosanakirja | Big Encyclopaedia | 1931–1958 |
| Oma maa | (Our) Own Land | 1905–1912; 1958–1959 |
| Otavan iso Fokus | Otava's Big Focus | 1971–1975 |
| Otavan iso tietosanakirja: Encyclopaedia Fennica | Otava's Big Encyclopaedia: Encyclopaedia Fennica | 1960–1965 |
| Otavan Suuri Ensyklopedia | Otava's Great Encyclopaedia | 1976–1983 |
| Pieni tietosanakirja | The Small Encyclopaedia | 1925–1928 |
| Sanakirja yleiseen sivistykseen kuuluvia tietoja varten | Dictionary of Facts Belonging to a General Education[3] | 1883–1890[a] |
| Spectrum Tietokeskus | Spectrum Knowledge Centre | 1976–1987 |
| Suomen kirjailijat | Writers in Finland | 1809–1916 (print vol. 1)[5][6] 1917–1944 (print vol. 2) 1945–1980 (print vol. 3) 1993–? (online database)[b] |
| Suomenkielinen Wikipedia | Finnish Wikipedia | 2002–present |
| Suuri Suomalainen Tietosanakirja | Great Finnish Encyclopaedia | 1988–1991 |
| Tiedon Värikäs Maailma | The Colourful World of Knowledge | 1972–1980 |
| Tietosanakirja | Encyclopaedia | 1909–1922 |
| Uusi tietosanakirja | New Encyclopaedia | 1929–1932 |
| Uusi tietosanakirja | New Encyclopaedia | 1960–1972 |
| WSOY iso tietosanakirja | WSOY Big Encyclopaedia | 1995–1997 |
See also
- Encyclopaedia synoptica – a Latin encyclopedia from 1672 by Johannes Gezelius the Elder; the first encyclopedia published in Finland
- Northern Sami Wikipedia – written in Northern Sámi, a distant Uralic relative of Finnish
- Uppslagsverket Finland (1982–2007; online since 2009) – an encyclopedia about Finland written in Swedish
Notes
- ^ The first encyclopedia in Finnish, written by Agathon Meurman, mostly based on the German Meyers Konversations-Lexikon.[3][4]
- ^ Series published by the Finnish Literature Society. An online database named "Suomen kirjailijat -tietokanta" [Writers in Finland -Database] was launched in the 1990s.
References
- ^ "Hyllymetri tietoa yhdessä cd-levyssä WSOY:n cd-rom-tietosanakirjasta löytyy myös kuvaa ja ääntä" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 14 April 1994.
- ^ Tiikkaja, Samuli (26 March 2012). "Internet tappoi suomalaiset tietosanakirjat - myös netissä". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ a b Daniels, Gordon (1984). Europe Interprets Japan. P. Norbury Publications. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-904404-42-5. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
The beginnings of the consolidation of the image of Japan may be seen in the country's inclusion in the first encyclopaedia to be published in Finnish. Agathon Meurman's Sanakirja yleiseen siwistykseen kuuluwia tietoja warten ('Dictionary of facts belonging to a general education') appeared in 12 parts between 1883 and 1890.
- ^ Meurman, Agathon (1826 - 1909) Finnish National Biography. Retrieved 7 May 2016. (in Finnish)
- ^ Selleck, R. G. (1995). Historical Abstracts: Modern history abstracts, 1775-1914. Part A. American Bibliographical Center, CLIO. p. 246. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ Hannu, Marttila (24 March 1993). "Autonomian ajan matrikkelissa on 2000 kirjailijaa" [There are 2,000 writers in the registry during the period of autonomy]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 August 2025.