Nimistuste

Nimistuste is a grammatical form in Estonian, derived from the noun nimistus, which means a list, inventory, or register. Nimistuste functions as the genitive plural form, used to indicate possession or relation to multiple lists. The corresponding nominative plural form of nimistus is nimistused.

In use, nimistuste appears in contexts such as archival, administrative, or scholarly writing, where authors refer to the contents or properties of several lists. For example, one might speak of the nimistuste andmed (the data of the lists) or the nimistuste koostamine (the compilation of the lists). The construction is typical of Estonian noun phrases that express genitive relationships between a head noun and a possessed or related set.

Grammatically, nimistus behaves like a neuter noun with standard Estonian pluralization patterns. Nimistuste is specifically the genitive plural ending, while nimistused serves as the nominative plural form. This pattern mirrors the broader system in which the genitive plural often carries the -ste ending for nouns ending in -us, -us or similar suffixes. In practice, nimistuste is most common in written Estonian when referring to multiple lists.

Related terms include nimistu, the base noun meaning list or inventory, and nimistused, the nominative plural form. Understanding nimistuste along with nimistused helps in parsing phrases that describe relations between lists and their contents or attributes.

See also: nimistu; nimistused.