süüdlaste

Süüdlaste is in Estonian the genitive plural form of süüdlane, a noun meaning a culprits or an accused person. The term is used to refer to individuals deemed responsible for a wrongdoing and is common in legal, journalistic, and everyday language. The genitive plural süüdlaste is used when something relates to or concerns more than one such person, for example tõendid süüdlaste vastu (evidence against the culprits).

Usage distinctions can be subtle. Süüdlane denotes a general label for someone blamed or believed to be responsible for a crime. In formal legal contexts, more precise terms are süüdistatav (the person charged/indicted) or süüditatu (the accused in a legal sense). Kurjategija is a broader term meaning a criminal and is not confined to formal status in court.

Etymology and grammar: süüdlane derives from süü, meaning guilt or fault, with the agentive suffix -lane forming a noun for a person associated with that state. The form süüdlaste is the genitive plural, used to express possession or relation to the group of culprits, such as in discussions of evidence, charges, or outcomes involving multiple individuals.