pühak

Pühak is the Estonian term for a saint, a person recognized by a Christian church as holy and worthy of veneration. In Catholic and Orthodox traditions, a pühak is typically a person who has been canonized or widely venerated as holy. In Estonia, where Lutheranism historically predominated, the term appears mainly in religious texts, liturgical language, and historical contexts, though the underlying concept is shared across Christian denominations.

Etymology and usage notes: The noun pühak is formed from the adjective püha, meaning holy, with a suffix that marks a person associated with that status. It is cognate with Finnish pyhä and with related forms in other Finnic languages. The word is most common in discussions of saints, saints’ feast days, and in translations of Christian texts.

Typical usage: Pühak is used for named saints in liturgy and hagiography, such as Püha Jüri (Saint George) or Püha Maarja (the Virgin Mary). It can also occur in expressions relating to feast days or religious calendars, though such usages are more characteristic of historical or Catholic/Orthodox contexts than everyday secular speech.

Context and scope: The category of pühak includes canonized saints as well as locally venerated holy figures. In Estonia, medieval saints were primarily venerated within Catholic and Orthodox communities; after the Reformation, formal veneration diminished in daily life but the concept persists in church rites and in Estonian translations of Christian texts. The term remains a standard label in religious discourse for distinguished holy persons within the Christian tradition.