Samaaegsete

Samaaegsete is an Estonian grammatical form used to refer to people who lived in the same time period as a referenced individual. It is the genitive plural form of the adjective samaaegne, meaning contemporary. In historical and biographical writing, samaaegsete functions as a noun-like phrase indicating contemporaries, as in the example samaaegsete kunstnike mõju, meaning the influence of contemporaries among artists.

Etymology and form: samaaegne is a compound of samaaeg (same time) and -ne (adjective suffix). The plural genitive ending -sete marks a genitive plural construction, so samaaegsete appears when the group of contemporaries is being described or referenced in possessive or partitive contexts. This form contrasts with the nominative plural samaaegsed, which directly modifies a noun in the subject position.

Usage and contexts: Samaaegsete is commonly found in academic and literary Estonian, especially in discussions of historical periods, biographical comparisons, or analyses of influence among people who shared an era. It allows writers to speak about the collective of contemporaries without naming each individual, or to indicate relationships to a particular figure or group.

Limitations and notes: As an inflected form, samaaegsete requires compatible nouns in the genitive plural within the sentence. Its use is largely restricted to formal or literary contexts where precise, era-based grouping is important. See also samaaegne, samaaegsed, and related terms in European languages referring to contemporaries.

See also: samaaegne; samaaegsed; Zeitgenossen (German).