Ilustruar

Ilustruar is an Estonian verb used to express the act of illustrating a text or concept, typically by providing drawings, diagrams, or other visual aids. In modern standard Estonian, the verb is largely superseded by forms such as illustreerida and illustada, which are the more common ways to say “to illustrate.” As a result, ilustruar is usually encountered only in historical texts, older literature, or certain dialectal varieties, where it is regarded as archaic or nonstandard.

Etymology and usage notes suggest that ilustruar shares a semantic field with other Latin- and English-derived terms for illustration. When it appears, its meaning remains aligned with making content clearer or more comprehensible through visual or exemplary means. Because it is not part of contemporary standard usage, writers who aim for modern Estonian typically prefer illustreerida or illustada to convey the same idea.

Related terms in standard Estonian include illustreerida and illustada, both of which denote the process of adding visual material to support text. The existence of ilustruar in dictionaries or older corpora illustrates how Estonian has evolved in its adoption of loanwords and preferred verb formations for concepts related to illustration.

See also: illustreerida, illustada.