salajased

Salajased is the plural nominative form of the Estonian adjective salajane, meaning secret, confidential, or clandestine. It is used to describe nouns in the plural that are not public or whose activities are intended to be kept hidden. Common phrases include salajased andmed (secret data), salajased kohtumised (secret meetings), and salajased operatsioonid (covert operations). In broad usage, the word can also refer to individuals or groups that act in secrecy.

Grammatical notes and usage context: as an adjective, salajased agrees with the noun it modifies in number and case. It can appear in neutral descriptive contexts as well as in journalism and fiction to convey concealment or secrecy. In formal or official contexts, other terms such as kinnine (closed, restricted) or klassifitseeritud (classified) may be preferred for precision, but salajased remains common in everyday language and in reporting that emphasizes secrecy or clandestine activity.

Etymology and scope: the form salajased is derived from the Estonian root salajane, with the plural nominative ending -sed. The word covers a range of uses from describing confidential information to characterizing actions or entities that operate without public knowledge. While it can describe covert operations or secretive individuals, it is not a technical term for intelligence services and is typically employed in general discourse or literary contexts.

See also: salajane, kinnine, klassifitseeritud teave.