Tehniline

Tehniline is an Estonian adjective meaning "technical" or "related to technique, engineering, or technology." It is used to describe objects, processes, and fields that involve the practical application of knowledge, such as machinery, software, documentation, and manufacturing. In grammar, tehniline agrees with nouns in number and case, producing forms like tehniline, tehnilise, and tehnilist as the word is inflected in sentences.

Etymology and cognates: The term derives from tehnika, meaning technique or technology, with the adjective-forming suffix -iline. It has cognates in neighboring Baltic languages, such as Latvian tehnisks and Lithuanian techninis, and broader cognates in German (technisch) and English (technical), reflecting shared roots in the concept of applied science and engineering.

Usage and nuance: Tehniline is a neutral descriptor used across technical writing, education, and industry. Common phrases include tehniline dokumentatsioon (technical documentation), tehniline kirjandus (technical literature), tehniline järelevalve (technical supervision), and tehniline tugi (technical support). In some contexts, tehnoloogiline is used to denote broader technological or technological-scientific aspects, while tehniline focuses more on practical technique and implementation.

See also: Technical writing, Engineering, Technology, Technical standards.