Sauna Definition: 5 Deceiving Errors Used to Fool You

If you’re like most people who are interested in knowing the definition of sauna, you just write sauna definition on Google, get the below answer, and call it a day:

You’d think Oxford Languages would know better, but no. According to them, sauna is “a small room used as a hot-air or steam bath for cleaning and refreshing the body.”

But what about all those clowns, including me, who insist that infrared heat cabins and plastic steam booths like Nurecover AREN’T saunas because they don’t meet the definition of sauna? Haven’t they read what Oxford has to say?

If you just want the quick answer and aren’t interested in a linguistic discussion, then rest assured, it’s the clowns who are correct in this case, and Oxford is wrong (I’ll prove it below).

And if you browsed past the featured snippet on Google, you’d easily see it for yourself that the first actual search result shows a significantly more accurate sauna definition:

A sauna is “a Finnish steam bath in which the steam is provided by water thrown on hot stones” (by Merriam-Webster).

Yes, this sauna definition is not only correct but also nailed the most important part, which is löyly (water thrown on hot rocks) that far too many people don’t understand.

Having heard that, do you still think infrared panels and plastic boxes have something to do with saunas? Well, they don’t.

This topic is perfect for me as I know saunas, am a language professional, bilingual with both English and Finnish at native level, and have a Master’s degree in English, so let’s dive in!

Sauna Definition: What Is the Full Meaning of Sauna?

Saunas come from Finland, and the word sauna is a direct loan from Finnish. That’s why it makes most sense to see how Finnish defines the word.

This sauna definition comes from the dictionary of standard Finnish compiled in the Institute for the Languages of Finland, and means:

a (small) building or room(s) for sweating in the heat of the sauna heater, for löyly (steam you get when throwing water on the hot sauna rocks), and for bathing.

What this means is that if the room you call a sauna doesn’t have all these elements (a sauna heater with sauna rocks that you throw water on to produce steam), it’s not a real sauna.

I happen to have several sauna books that offer even more detailed sauna definitions. One of them (Forsell, 2007) mentions that a sauna has:

• wooden surfaces (typically, not always)
• ventilation
• access to water nearby and is built to also let water out
• necessary lighting
• benches for sitting
• a sauna heater
• dry air that you make more humid by throwing water on the hot sauna rocks
• a temperature above 160 F (70 C)

What is a sauna for? The word sauna is also a verb (saunoa in Finnish) that means “healthy and relaxing sweating, cooling down, and cleaning yourself up, aimed to make you feel good both mentally and physically” (Forsell, 2007).

Yes, as someone with over 35 years of sauna experience, I can confirm this sauna definition is correct!

Now that we know what sauna means, both as a place (noun) and as something you do (verb), let’s see why the extremely loose definition provided by Oxford Languages in the beginning of this post is so problematic.

5 Errors in the Sauna Definition Provided by Oxford Languages

Oxford Languages is to blame for the immediate answer Google gives to everyone searching for a sauna definition: according to them, sauna is “a small room used as a hot-air or steam bath for cleaning and refreshing the body.”

Let’s list all the errors in this definition one by one.

1. Saunas aren’t inherently small

The word sauna doesn’t include any meanings related to size. There are many big saunas in the world, and they’re not even rare.

Below’s a picture of the Naval Academy’s sauna built in 1901 in Helsinki, Finland, offering enough space for at least 120 sauna-goers (Peltonen et al., 1997):

2. Hot air AND steam, not either-or

The Oxford definition suggests a sauna either has hot air or steam, which is far from the truth. How do you even bathe in hot air and nothing else?

I’ve written countless times how saunas are, despite common claims, NOT meant to be used dry, and that throwing water on the sauna rocks is not optional, but a must even according to some sauna heater instructions!

3. For body AND mind

The Oxford sauna definition only mentions body, saying nothing about the effects of saunaing on the mind. But as stated in the sauna verb definition above, saunaing is for both your mind and body.

This is often recognized in research literature as well when discussing sauna benefits: saunaing promotes mental well-being and even prevents psychotic disorders.

4. Room for inaccurate interpretations

Is a sauna just a hot room? We already know it’s not, although that’s what the loose Oxford definition would have you believe.

According to it, if I went to a greenhouse made out of glass or plastic, for instance, and used it for cleaning and refreshing my body, it would be accurate to call it a sauna!

Why is an interpretation like this possible? Because the definition lacks so much specificity. If you’ve been to greenhouses, you know they can be small and that the air in them can definitely get hot (= these qualities meet the Oxford definition).

Now you only need to use your greenhouse for cleaning and refreshing your body, and you’ve got yourself a sauna! You don’t even need a water hose since you can use rain water you’ve collected as your washing water.

There are, of course, numerous problems with this: the “hot air” comes nowhere near sauna hotness that’s easily double the degrees you’d have in a greenhouse.

And where’s the steam (löyly) that’s the whole point of saunaing? Like stated, it’s never the hotness OR the steam as both are must-haves. And how is the steam achieved? How can information like this not be part of the Oxford sauna definition?

5. Crucial elements left out

It’s not only what the definition includes but the many elements of sauna it fails to include.

If the definition had mentioned sauna heater, rocks, and löyly (steam), I wouldn’t have needed to write this article in the first place.

If your “sauna” doesn’t have the aforementioned elements, then it’s not a sauna. Even a sauna tent, for instance, that doesn’t have wooden walls, otherwise has all the crucial elements that make sauna a sauna.

Why Are So Many Words Used Incorrectly?

Now that you know the proper sauna definition, you might wonder why so many fake saunas are called saunas.

That’s because no linguist, etymologist, or lexicographer (person who compiles dictionaries) is able to control or dictate how people use language. You might think authorities like these have all the power, but it’s actually people and communities that define words the most.

Only when there are legal consequences and/or monetary loss because of false marketing, then you get companies to react.

Once you’re not allowed to call feta cheese feta, but salad cheese or Greek-style cheese, and the sparkling wine you drink can’t be called champagne (unless it was made in the Champagne region in France), that’s when you start to see a difference in how companies approach certain words.

If every marketer who sells infrared heat cubicles as saunas were suddenly fined because Finland owns the rights to that word, and infrared heat has nothing to do with saunas, that would be the end of infrared “saunas.”

Could that ever happen? Who knows, but it’s interesting to think about!

One last thing to note is that some countries have much stricter language rules than others. In the US, for instance, you can be a “doctor” or “Dr.” even though you don’t have a medical degree or a doctorate, meaning you aren’t a doctor of any kind. In Finland, this type of lying isn’t allowed in any formal setting.

Since the US allows fake doctors, it sure hell will allow fake saunas! Anything goes if it’s good for business.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is the difference between sauna and steam room?

A real sauna always has a sauna heater (either wood-burning or electrical) with sauna rocks, on top of which you pour water to produce steam (löyly).

The healthiest temperature range for sauna benefits is 160-180 F (70-80 C). By adjusting your sauna heater settings or how much wood you use, and by pouring löyly, you’re in full control of how much heat, steam, and humidity you get.

Real saunas also offer seating options as the benches are in 2 or 3 levels: the higher you sit, the hotter it is.

A steam room has a steam generator working automatically, with higher humidity (close to 100%) and lower temperatures (115 F, give or take) than those present in saunas. Typically everyone sits at the same, low level.

2. How to pronounce sauna?

The pronunciation you most typically hear, SAW-NA [sɔːnə], is incorrect, but used to be accepted since that’s how you’d “normally” say it in English, with no regard to the origin of the word. Pronounced this way, it rhymes with fauna [‘fɔ:nə].

Luckily, as the Finnish sauna has become so popular around the world, the correct pronunciation has also spread, and that is [‘sɑunɑ].

If you’re a native English speaker with no other language skills, the closest to the correct pronunciation you most commonly get is [‘saʊnə]. It’s a more relaxed way of saying [‘sɑunɑ] that requires more muscle use since both the /ɑ/ and /u/ come from further back the mouth than the lazier /a/ and /ʊ/.

But don’t sweat it! If you were to have a sauna conversation in English with a Finnish person, and you managed to say [‘saʊnə] instead of SAW-NA [sɔːnə], that would be enough to make the Finn impressed.

The American guy in the video above does a good job with his pronunciation! 👍

Final Thoughts

Now that we all fully understand the complete sauna definition, we can move on, and enjoy infrared heat rooms and plastic steam booths as what they are, knowing damn well they’re not saunas.

I feel bad for anyone who has been fooled into buying a “sauna” that’s not really a sauna. Of course it should be a sauna if it’s called one, but sadly that’s not the case in the Wild West, more commonly known as the United States.

This comment by Jeff on Sauna Times illustrates exactly what I mean:

“Hi Glen,I have a infared sauna-my mistake-and it only goes to 145 degrees farhenheit. It’s not a true finnish sauna..How much longer minutes do I need to stay to get same benefits that Dr Lauri recommends?”

It shouldn’t have to be HIS mistake! This is exactly why language matters. In the end, we wouldn’t even be able to communicate with each other if it hadn’t been agreed on what words mean.

I want to wrap up with this picture and text relating to sauna definition (Forsell, 2007). The photo was taken in an infrared heat room in a spa in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the translation is below:

“The latest innovation is an infrared heat room that’s marketed world-wide as a sauna even though it’s technically not. After you’ve sat in a heat room for a good while, you do get sweaty, but not like in traditional sauna ambiance. The room is more like a warm lounge for socializing than an honest sauna.”

P.S. Anyone’s able to send Google and Oxford Languages feedback about their sauna definition; if I decide to do so, and get a response, I’ll keep you posted!

After all, it would be wonderful to have such a lacking definition fixed.

Sources:

Forsell, Marketta (2007). Saunan taikaa: tarinoita, tietoa, tunnelmia.

Peltonen, Jarno, & Karjanoja, Matti (1997). Sauna: Made in Finland.