Lõhnava

Lõhnava is a grammatical form of the Estonian adjective lõhnav, meaning fragrant or scented. It is the genitive singular form, used when the noun it modifies is in the genitive case. The base adjective lõhnav is formed from the noun lõhn (smell, scent) plus the participial suffix -av, a common productive pattern in Estonian to create adjectives describing inherent properties.

Grammatical notes: In Estonian, adjectives decline to agree with the nouns they modify in case, number, and gender. Lõhnava specifically represents the genitive singular form. This form appears in linguistic descriptions, dictionaries, and formal writing where a noun is in the genitive; in ordinary spoken language, the nominative form lõhnav is typically used when the noun is not in genitive.

Usage considerations: Lõhnava is not a standalone lexical headword in most contemporary dictionaries; rather, it is a inflected form of lõhnav. Its appearance signals grammatical relationships rather than a separate sense. The form demonstrates how Estonian nouns and adjectives interact across cases and shows the standard pattern of using a participial suffix to derive adjectives from a base noun.

Related terms and concepts: lõhn (smell, scent), lõhnav (fragrant), the Estonian adjective declension system, and the -av participial suffix.