Mõisted

Mõiste (plural mõisted) is an Estonian noun meaning concept, notion, or idea. In philosophy, linguistics, cognitive science, and education, mõiste refers to a mental representation or definable unit that groups objects, properties, and relations by shared features. Mõisted can be abstract, such as 'aeg' (time) or 'õigus' (law), or concrete, such as 'kolmnurk' (triangle).

A key distinction in Estonian terminology is between mõiste and termin. A mõiste denotes the underlying idea or class, while a termin is the word or phrase used to name that idea within a language or field. Definitions describe the scope and essential features of a mõiste, enabling precise use and reasoning.

In education and knowledge organization, mõisted are taught as building blocks of understanding. Students learn to identify, compare, and apply mõisted, and to distinguish them from related labels.

In dictionaries and academic writing, mõiste is defined as a mental construct or a conventional label for a set of objects with common properties.

Scholarly discussion of mõisted intersects semantics, ontology, and epistemology, and analyses how language encodes concepts in thought and practice.