külma

Külma is the genitive and partitive singular form of the Estonian adjective külm, which means cold. The base form külm is used before a noun in the nominative position to describe temperature or coldness (for example, külm vesi, “cold water”; külm ilm, “cold weather”). The form külma appears when the noun it modifies is in genitive or partitive cases (for instance, külma vee, “of cold water”). This reflects how Estonian adjectives inflect to agree with the case of the noun they modify.

Etymology and cognates: külm belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family. It is closely related to Finnish kylmä, with both words sharing a common Proto-Finnic origin. The shared heritage is evident in the parallel meaning of “cold” across the Finnic languages.

Usage and functions: külm is a core descriptor in everyday language, describing temperature in weather reports, food and beverages, and physical sensations. The word also participates in figurative expressions meaning unfriendly or distant, as is common with temperature-related terms in many languages. In addition to its adjective use, Estonian forms an adverbial derivative, külmalt, meaning “coldly.”

Summary: külma serves as a key inflected form of the Estonian adjective for cold, illustrating how Estonian adjectives adapt to different grammatical cases while retaining the core meaning of temperature and chill.