Kontaktom

Kontaktom is the instrumental case form of the noun kontakt in several Slavic languages that use the Latin script, including Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, and Slovenian. The word literally means by contact or with contact and is used to indicate the means, method, or channel through which an action is performed. It can refer to physical contact as well as to contact as a means of communication or interaction.

Etymology and morphology: kontakt comes from the international loanword for “contact,” present in many languages and adapted to local inflectional systems. In the instrumental singular, appropriate to these languages, it appears as kontaktom, signaling the instrument or means by which something is done. Variants exist in related languages with slightly different instrumental endings (for example,Kontaktem in Polish), but kontaktom is typical for the Balkan and some Slavic varieties with Latin script.

Usage: In practice, kontaktom is used to express that an action is performed through contact or via contact with someone or something. For example: Ostvarili smo kontaktom s nadležnim službama. This translates as “We established contact with the competent services.” Similar constructions may describe communication, collaboration, or investigation conducted by contact with a person or organization.

Relation to other terms: The base noun kontakt is common across many languages, with related forms referring to the concept of contact in everyday and technical language. In technical contexts, kontakt may also refer to an actual physical contact point or electrical contact, with kontakti or kontaktny being other related terms in some languages.

See also: contact, kontak, kontaktować.