Mittekõikide

Mittekõikide is an Estonian quantifier used in linguistic and semantic contexts to express that a property applies to some but not all members of a group. It functions as a negated universal quantifier, signalling partial applicability rather than a claim about every member.

The form mittekõikide is the genitive plural of mittekõik, the word that conveys “not all.” In noun phrases it typically accompanies a following noun in the genitive, forming phrases such as mittekõikide inimeste puhul (in the case of not all people) or mittekõikide õpilaste hulgas (among not all students). In Estonian syntax this construction is analyzed as a determiner-like phrase that scopes over the noun complement, allowing the speaker to discuss partial distribution of a property within a group.

Usage and register: mittekõikide is most commonly encountered in linguistic, philosophical, or mathematical discussions of quantification and scope. It is a more formal or technical alternative to everyday expressions like mitte kõik. In formal writing, mittekõikide can help to distinguish a partial coverage of a class from universal statements about the entire class, a distinction important in analyses of logic, semantics, and argumentation.

Relation to other quantifiers: mittekõikide is contrasted with kõik (all) and mittekõik (not all) in discussions of how quantifiers interact with negation and with noun phrases in Estonian. It sits within the broader study of Estonian quantifiers and their syntactic and semantic behavior.

References to mittekõikide appear primarily in linguistic and semantic literature on quantification, with usage concentrated in analytic or explanatory texts rather than everyday speech.