Kollektoreid

Kollektor is an Estonian noun meaning a person who collects things. Kollektoreid is the partitive plural form of this noun, used when the object is indefinite, partial, or not fully specified, or after certain verbs and constructions that require a partitive object. In practical use, kollektoreid appears in sentences like “Ma nägin kollektoreid,” which translates to “I saw some collectors.”

Etymology and form: The word kollektoreid is formed from the stem kollekt-, with the standard Estonian partitive plural suffix -eid. This inflection pattern is typical for animate nouns in Estonian that end in -ktor or -tor in their base form, producing kollektoreid as the partitive plural.

Usage notes: The nominative plural of the same noun is kollektorkid (collectors). The partitive form kollektoreid is common in general statements about an unspecified group of collectors, or when the sentence requires a partitive object due to the verb or context. It is not a separate semantic term for a different kind of collector; rather, it is the grammatical case form of the same word.

See also: kollektork (collectors in nominative plural), kollektsioon (collection), kollektsionäär (collector in some contexts). For broader discussion of Estonian noun inflection, see Estonian grammar on partitive cases and plural formation.