asendumine

Asendumine is a term used in Estonian to denote the act or process of substituting one element with another. It describes replacement across various fields and is formed from the base asendus meaning substitution, with the noun suffix -mine. The concept is general and can be applied to different kinds of replacements.

In linguistics, asendumine refers to the substitution of a sound, word, or morpheme within a language unit, such as phoneme changes in dialects or language contact scenarios. In chemistry and related sciences, it denotes a substitution reaction, where an atom or a functional group in a molecule is replaced by another. In mathematics and computer science, asendumine describes substituting variables, expressions, or tokens during problem solving, algorithmic processing, or code transformation. In medicine and pharmacology, the term is used to describe drug substitution, where one medication is replaced with another in a treatment plan due to efficacy, safety, or availability considerations.

The term highlights the transfer of identity from one element to another while preserving the overall structure or function of the system. See also substitution, replacement, substitution reaction, and drug substitution.