sõnadele

Sõnadele is an Estonian grammatical form meaning “to the words.” It is the allative plural of the noun sõna (word), used to indicate direction toward or recipient of an action in reference to multiple words. The form is built from the genitive plural stem sõnade plus the allative suffix -le, yielding sõnadele.

In Estonian, the allative case marks direction toward a location, person, thing, or abstract target, and is used in contexts such as giving, addressing, or directing attention to something. The allative plural sõnadele thus signals that the action or reference is aimed at or directed toward the words themselves, rather than at a single word or at a person.

Usage notes:

- The base word is sõna; its plural nominative is sõnad, genitive plural is sõnade, and allative plural is sõnadele.

- The allative is common in formal, literary, or archaic registers, and appears in certain fixed expressions or phrasing where a destination or target is conceptually applied to a plural noun.

- It is not used to express possession; possession uses other case forms such as the genitive.

Examples (illustrative, reflecting general allative function):

- The phrase teknikapäraselt used in linguistic or literary contexts might present concepts directed toward sõnadele, i.e., toward the words as objects of discussion or action.

- A sentence in formal Estonian could employ pühendatud sõnadele meaning “dedicated to the words,” illustrating the allative’s role in signaling the recipient or focus of the dedication.

See also: Estonian grammar, allative case, noun inflection, plural forms.