Tunnuse

Tunnuse is the genitive singular form of the Estonian noun tunnus, a term that covers signs, symbols, emblems, or identifiers. In everyday use, tunnus can refer to a wide range of identifying marks, from national symbols or insignia to digital identifiers such as a username or login code. The genitive form tunnuse appears when indicating possession or a relationship to a sign or identifier, for example in phrases like “tunnuse tähendus” (the meaning of the sign) or “tunnuse omanik” (owner of the identifier).

In computing and administration contexts, tunnus commonly appears as part of compound words. For instance, kasutajatunnus is the user name, and tunnuse loomine can mean the creation of an identifier. These uses reflect tunnus as a general concept of identification and symbolic representation, extending from physical signs to digital credentials.

Grammatically, tunnuse demonstrates standard Estonian noun inflection, with tunnus as the base and -e as the genitive singular ending. The related plural genitive is tunnuste. The word is native to Estonian and shares cognates with Finnish and other Finnic languages, where corresponding terms describe signs or identifiers, though each language applies its own grammatical rules.

See also: tunnus, identifikaator, kasutajatunnus, sign, symbol.