kirjapandud

Kirjapandud is an Estonian term meaning “written down” or “recorded in writing.” It is a past participle adjective formed from the verb phrase kirja panema, meaning to put into writing. The word describes material or statements that have been committed to writing, as opposed to remaining oral or only in memory.

In archival, historical, and philological contexts, kirjapandud describes sources or texts that exist in written form, such as transcripts of oral interviews, folk narratives that have been transcribed, or manuscripts that have been copied into a finalized text. The emphasis is on the act of recording in writing rather than on publication or distribution.

The term is not interchangeable with a term for published works. For published editions, Estonian typically uses words like välja antud, trükitud, or avaldatud. Kirjapandud is thus more likely to appear in scholarly descriptions of sources, manuscripts, or transcripts, where the distinction between oral or manuscript material and its written form is important.

Etymology-wise, kirjapandud combines kirja (in writing, document) with pandud (put, placed), signaling the transition from nonwritten to written form. While common in academic writing and library science, it may be less familiar in everyday language outside specialized contexts.