Esialgsed

Esialgsed is an Estonian adjective meaning preliminary or initial. It is used to describe items, plans, results, or findings that belong to the early stages of a process or investigation. The form esialgsed represents the plural nominative, used before plural nouns; other grammatical forms of the adjective follow standard Estonian inflection for number and case.

In practice, esialgsed appears in scientific, planning, and administrative contexts to mark provisional or exploratory status. For example, esialgsed plaanid refers to preliminary plans, esialgsed tulemused to preliminary results, and esialgsed uuringud to initial studies. The term helps distinguish early or draft material from more complete or final versions, such as lõplikud (final) or täpsed (precise) results.

Etymologically, esialgsed is derived from the root esialgne, which conveys the sense of prior or early. The word is commonly used in both formal and informal Estonian to indicate that something is not yet final and may be subject to revision as more information becomes available.

Usage notes: when describing a single item, the singular form esialgne is used (for example, esialgne plaan). In every case, esialgsed and its related forms agree with the noun they modify in number and case, following standard Estonian adjective declension.

See also: esialgne, preliminary, Estonian language, planning and research terminology.