Digitaalses

Digitaalses is an Estonian adjective form used to indicate that something exists in or relates to the digital realm. It is the inessive singular form of digitaalne and is typically used before a noun in phrases such as digitaalses keskkonnas (in a digital environment) or digitaalses vormis (in digital form). The term is common in discussions about technology, media, education, and policy related to digitalization.

Etymology and meaning: The word digitaalne is borrowed from international technical vocabulary, ultimately tracing to Latin digitalis, related to digitus (finger) and counting digits. In Estonian, the adjective combines with noun cases to express location or state in relation to digital technology, with digitaalses signaling a focus on digital characteristics.

Usage notes: Digitaalses modifies a following noun in the inessive case and is not used as a predicate adjective by itself. For example: Dokument on digitaalses vormis (The document is in digital form). It is commonly used in formal and semi-formal writing, especially in tech, science, education, and media contexts. Variations of the word appear in other case forms (e.g., digitaalse, digitaalsed) depending on grammatical role.

See also: digitaalne, digitaliseerimine, digitization, digital culture.