Kroonilisi

Kroonilisi is the partitive plural form of the Estonian adjective krooniline, which means chronic. As a grammatical form, kroonilisi is used when the described noun is in partitive plural or when Estonian grammar requires the partitive case—commonly in negative sentences, after certain verbs, to indicate an indefinite quantity, or to express ongoing, incomplete, or noncount situations.

In meaning, krooniline denotes conditions or phenomena that are long‑lasting, persistent, or recurrent rather than acute or temporary. The term is most frequently encountered in medical and health contexts (for example, kroonilisi haigusi — chronic diseases; kroonilisi valusid — chronic pains), but it also appears in social, legal, and environmental descriptions (e.g., kroonilisi probleeme — chronic problems).

Etymology traces krooniline to the international root chron- (from Greek chronos, “time”), adopted into Estonian through European medical and scientific vocabulary. Morphologically, krooniline inflects across cases and numbers: singular and plural nominative forms are krooniline and kroonilised, while other case forms include kroonilise, kroonilist, krooniliste and kroonilisi.

Usage notes: correct agreement between adjective and noun is required (kroonilisi haigusi, not kroonilisi haigused), and the partitive plural form conveys partial or indefinite reference rather than a completed set.