põlvi

Põlvi is an Estonian toponym and, in linguistic contexts, a word form derived from the noun põlv, meaning knee. As a place name, it has been used for at least one settlement in Estonia; toponyms based on body parts reflect a common feature of Estonian geography, where historic land divisions, property names, or local associations influence naming. The exact locality and administrative status of any place named Põlvi can vary over time due to administrative reforms and changing naming practices.

In the Estonian language, põlv refers to the knee joint. The form põlvi appears as a grammatical variant of the root in certain inflectional environments; Estonian nouns are declined for number and case, and forms derived from põlv can occur in compounds and in linguistic descriptions of morphology. Põlvi should not be confused with related toponyms rooted in other terms, such as Põlva or Põlvamaa, which are distinct place names in the same linguistic region.

The term also features in dictionaries and linguistic works when illustrating Estonian noun inflection and toponym formation. In contemporary usage, attention to capitalization and diacritics is important: proper names such as Põlvi begin with a capital letter in Estonian, while the lowercase form põlvi commonly appears in grammatical discussion or within inflected forms of the noun.