Originaalide

Originaalide is the genitive plural form of originaal in Estonian, meaning “of the originals.” It is used to indicate possession, relation, or description involving more than one original item. In everyday language, originaalide appears in phrases such as references to originals in a collection, provenance statements, or discussions about authenticity.

In ordinary use, originaalide is contrasted with originaalid (the nominative plural, meaning “the originals”). For example, originaalide kopeerimine on keelatud translates to “The copying of the originals is prohibited,” while the sentence Mida te arvate originaalide väärtusest means “What do you think about the value of the originals?” The form also appears after prepositions that require the genitive case, such as kohta, kohta originaalide kohta (“about the originals”) or omanike originaalide omamisest (“ownership of the originals”).

Etymology and morphology: originaalide is derived from originaal, a noun meaning original, which in Estonian can be traced to the Latin originalis through language adaptation. The genitive plural suffix -ide marks the relation to multiple originals. The nominative plural is originaalid, while the genitive plural is originaalide.

See also: originaal, koopia, reproduktsioon, provenance. Notes: originaalide is specifically the genitive plural form and is common in legal, academic, and curatorial contexts when referring to multiple original items rather than one.