määratud

Määratud is an Estonian adjective and past passive participle derived from the verb määrama, meaning to determine, designate, or assign. It describes something that has been fixed, specified, or appointed by rules, a document, or an authority. As a modifier, määratud can accompany nouns across various domains, for example: määratud tähtaeg (a specified deadline), määratud summa (a fixed amount), or määratud isik (an appointed person). It can also be used predicatively, as in the phrase Tähtaeg on määratud.

Usage and nuances

In everyday language, määratud conveys that a value, time, limit, or designation has been established or codified. In formal, legal, or administrative contexts, it signals that the item in question is not optional but determined by regulation, contract, or policy. The opposite form, määramata, means unspecified or undetermined and is used when details have not yet been fixed.

Grammar and forms

Määratud functions as an adjective and is inflected like other Estonian adjectives for case and number. It commonly appears in compound expressions with nouns in various cases, and its meaning remains consistently tied to the act of having been set or designated. Related phrases frequently occur in official texts, contracts, and procedural documents.

Etymology

The word is built from the verb määrama, which carries thesense of setting, designating, or fixing something by decision or rule. Määratud thus denotes that such an action has already occurred.