Sõdasid

Sõdasid is the partitive plural form of the Estonian noun sõda, which means war. The form is used when wars are referred to in an indefinite or non-countable sense, or when the action relates to war in a non-specific way. In Estonian, the partitive case appears in various grammatical constructions, including after numerals and in many fixed expressions; as a result, sõdasid occurs in phrases describing multiple conflicts without listing them individually.

Morphology and usage: The core word is sõda, and the partitive plural is formed with the suffix -sid, yielding sõdasid. This form commonly appears in written Estonian, especially in historical, political, and descriptive texts that discuss wars more generally rather than a single, definite conflict. It contrasts with the nominative plural sõjad (wars) and the singular sõda (a war).

Semantics and context: Sõdasid is typically found when the speaker or writer talks about several wars as a category or when the exact wars are not enumerated. It helps express quantity or scope without pinpointing each conflict. In contrast, if a single war is meant, sõda in the singular would be used; if the wars are treated as a specific, countable set, other constructions might be chosen.

See also: sõda, list of wars in Estonia, history of Estonia.