eksituse

Eksitus (genitive eksituse) is the Estonian noun meaning "error" or "mistake." It refers to a deviation from correctness in reasoning, measurement, or action. The term is common in formal or technical writing, while everyday Estonian more often uses viga for a mistake and reserves eksitus for more theoretical or precise contexts.

Etymology and scope: Eksitus is derived from the verb eksima, meaning to stray or err, with the noun-forming suffix -itus. This gives the sense of departing from a correct path. In scientific and philosophical contexts, eksitus can denote an incorrect result, a flaw in an argument, or a measurement error. In metrology or statistics, phrases like eksituse suurus or eksituse hinnang refer to the magnitude or assessment of the error. In computing, eksitus may appear in formal descriptions of erroneous states or failures, though everyday language often favors viga or bug.

Usage examples: In Estonian, one might say "Eksitus põhjustas katse mittetäieliku tulemuse" (The error caused the experiment to yield an incomplete result) or "Eksituse tõttu tuleb andmeid korrigeerida" (Because of the error, the data must be corrected).

See also: Mistake, Error, Fault, Bug, Measurement error, Epistemology.