Põudadele

Põud on Estonian word for a period of abnormally low rainfall that can lead to water shortages and crop damage. Põudadele is the allative plural form of this noun, meaning “to the droughts.” In Estonian, allative forms express destination or direction and are formed by combining the genitive plural form with the allative suffix -le, resulting in endings like -adele in compounds such as põudadele.

The form põudadele is mainly encountered in formal or technical writing, such as climate research, meteorological reports, or linguistic descriptions of Estonian grammar. It is used when referencing drought events collectively or when discussing topics directed toward droughts as a phenomenon, rather than in everyday conversation.

Linguistically, põudadele illustrates how Estonian builds plural, genitive plural, and allative forms from a base noun. While põud refers to drought in a general sense, põudadele signals a plural, directed context—literally “to the droughts.” This pattern is comparable to other Estonian nouns whose genitive plural ends in -ade and therefore forms a similar allative plural with the suffix -le.

See also: põud, Estonian grammar, allative case, drought in climate history.