lugijad

Lugijad is a term that may appear in Estonian-language texts as an archaic or dialectal plural form of the noun lugija, understood to mean "readers." In modern standard Estonian, the common word for "readers" is lugejad, and lugijad is not widely used today. When encountered, lugijad is typically interpreted as a historical or regional variant rather than a living term in contemporary usage.

Etymology and form: The word is built from a root related to the verb lugema, “to read,” with an agentive suffix that would yield a word meaning “someone who reads.” The plural would be formed with the Estonian plural ending -ad, producing lugijad. Because lugijad is not part of standard contemporary Estonian, its precise derivation and orthographic treatment can vary in dialectal or historical texts.

Usage and context: Lugijad appears primarily in older written material or in dialect studies, where it reflects variant spelling and morphology before standardization of Estonian orthography. In such contexts, it would refer to a group of people who read, i.e., readers or an audience. The term is generally not used in modern everyday language or contemporary literature.

Current status: Today, lugijad is of interest mainly to linguists and historians studying Estonian dialects and historical language change. For general communication, lugejad remains the standard term for “readers.”

See also: lugeja, lugejad (the standard Estonian terms for “reader” and “readers”).