tehinguvad

Tehinguvad is an Estonian term used to describe parties or groups actively involved in negotiating deals. The word is formed from tehing, meaning a deal or transaction, with the suffix -uvad that conveys ongoing action by plural subjects. In practice, tehinguvad can be understood as “the negotiating parties” or “those who are negotiating.”

Etymology and form: Tehing denotes a transaction, and the -uvad ending marks ongoing activity for multiple subjects, giving a participial or adjectival sense. The term is most often encountered in formal or journalistic Estonian, where it refers to participants currently engaged in negotiation rather than finalized agreements.

Usage: Tehinguvad is applied to identify actors in a negotiation process. For example, tehinguvad pooled kavatsesid lepingut sõlmida soon, meaning the negotiating parties planned to conclude a contract soon. The word emphasizes process and activity over outcome and is more common in written language, such as business reporting, legal drafting, and academic contexts, than in casual speech.

Variants and limitations: Some dictionaries do not list tehinguvad as a standalone lexical item; in everyday Estonian, speakers may instead use phrases like osapooled läbirääkimised või läbirääkimised poolete main context. When precision is required, authors often replace it with clearer expressions such as “lÄbirääkimiste käigus olevad osapooled” or simply “osapooled.”

See also: läbirääkimised; leping; tehing.