sätestamisel

Sätestamisel is an Estonian linguistic term referring to the ongoing act of establishing, stipulating, or laying down rules, standards, or provisions. It is the adessive form of the noun sätestamine, which denotes the act itself, and the -misel suffix signals “in the process of” or “during.” In English, it can be rendered as “in the process of stipulating” or “during specification.”

Etymology and morphology

The word combines the noun sätestamine (the act of stipulating or setting forth) with the adessive case ending -misel, indicating location or time within the act. This construction is common in formal Estonian to describe processes unfolding in regulatory, legal, or administrative texts.

Usage

Sätestamisel is primarily found in official or technical writing, where authors refer to the act of formulating rules, standards, or provisions. It often appears in phrases such as “määruste sätestamisel” (in the process of stipulating regulations) or “normide sätestamise käigus” (during the setting forth of norms). The term emphasizes the activity rather than the result, and it tends to be less common in everyday speech.

Related terms

Related lexical items include sätestamine (the act of stipulating), sätestus (a provision or stipulation), and kehtestamine (enactment or implementation). In practice, kehtestamine may be used for the formal adoption of rules, whereas sätestamine focuses on defining or prescribing specifics.

See also

Estonian grammar on participles and gerunds, and legal/regulatory terminology in Estonian.