perekond

Perekond is the Estonian word for family or household. It denotes a basic social unit consisting of two or more persons connected by kinship, marriage, or cohabitation and typically living in the same dwelling. In everyday usage, the term often refers to the nuclear family—parents and their children—but it can also describe broader family arrangements, including extended relatives living together or a single parent with children.

In law, policy and statistics, perekond is used to define the family unit for rights and obligations, social benefits, taxation, and housing. The precise definition depends on context, but the core idea is to identify a group of related people or a household that functions as a social unit for various civil and administrative purposes.

Etymology and usage: The word is formed from pere, meaning family, with the suffix -kond, creating a designation for a group of related individuals. The standard inflections include perekonna (genitive), perekonnad (plural), and perekondlik (adjectival). In practice, perekond remains a flexible term that covers a range of familial living arrangements within Estonian society.