Võimust

Võimust is the elative singular form of the Estonian noun võim, which means power, authority, or influence. In Estonian grammar, elative forms are used to express origin or source, roughly translating to “from power” or “out of power” in English. The word is primarily encountered in discussions of political authority or personal influence, where võim itself serves as the base meaning.

In usage, võimust appears in fixed phrases and idioms. A commonly cited example is võimust võtma, meaning “to seize power.” This construction highlights the shift of authority away from one actor toward another. Beyond this idiom, võimust can appear in sentences that describe the source of influence or the domain from which something is derived, aligning with the general function of the elative case to indicate origin.

Semantically, võim encompasses formal political power (riigi võim, state power) as well as broader influence or control in social or organizational contexts. Võimust, as a grammatical form, does not represent a separate concept but rather a syntactic variant used to indicate the source or exit from power in a given clause.

See also: võim, mõju, autoriteet, võimuvõitlus.

Notes: Estonian grammar uses several case endings to mark different relations; elative endings such as -st attach to the noun stem and can alter the noun’s role within a sentence. In practice, võimust is most recognizable in idiomatic expressions involving power dynamics, especially when describing changes in authority.