Sajand

Sajand is an Estonian noun meaning a period of one hundred years, i.e., a century. It is used in historical and chronological contexts to refer to specific centuries, the standard way to name them in Estonian is by numbering.

Centuries are typically identified by a numeral followed by the word sajand, for example 20. sajand denotes the 20th century. In phrases describing parts of a century, the genitive form sajandi is used, such as 20. sajandi algus (the beginning of the 20th century) or 20. sajandi lõpp (the end of the 20th century). The term appears across encyclopedic writing, biographies, timelines, and cultural histories as a basic unit of time.

Overall, sajand functions as a concise temporal descriptor that anchors events and periods within a hundred-year span. Its usage is straightforward in both formal and informal registers when discussing historical eras or long-term developments.