kestuste

Kestuste is the genitive plural form of the Estonian noun kestus, meaning “durations” or “lengths of time.” The noun kestus denotes the span of time during which something occurs or lasts. In Estonian, nouns are declined by case and number; kestuse is the genitive singular, and kestuste is the genitive plural. The genitive plural kestuste is used when referring to the durations of several events or items, for example in phrases like “kestuste võrdlus” (comparison of durations) or “kestuste erinevus” (difference between durations).

Declension at a glance: Nominative plural kestused; Genitive singular kestuse; Genitive plural kestuste; Partitive plural kestuseid.

Etymology: The word kestus carries Finno-Ugric roots meaning lasting, and the genitive plural form is created by adding the -te suffix to the stem.

Usage context: Kestuste appears mainly in academic, statistical, or literary Estonian contexts where time spans of multiple events or processes are described or analyzed. It functions as a grammatical marker within noun phrases rather than as a separate lexical item with an independent meaning.

Notes: Because kestuste is a grammatical form, its primary role is to indicate possession or relation to multiple durations within a sentence. When speaking about durations in general, the nominative plural kestused is typically used.