Põhiste

Põhiste is an Estonian noun form derived from põhi, which means base, foundation, or bottom. It is the genitive plural form used when referring to “the bases” or “of the bases” in various contexts. The term appears across domains such as geology, architecture, philosophy, and linguistics, whenever something is described in terms of its underlying bases or foundations. Grammatically, põhiste functions as a genitive plural modifier and is typically found in phrases where another noun is governed in the genitive by the base. The word is not a separate lexical item with a distinct meaning beyond this plural form; rather, it is a grammatical case ending applied to the noun põhi. Consequently, its meaning is highly dependent on the surrounding words and the intended sense of “bases” or “foundations.” In translation, it is commonly rendered as “of the bases” or “base foundations” depending on the context. See also põhi and related terms for base, foundation, and fundamental concepts in Estonian.