toitlus

Toitlus is a noun in the Estonian language that refers to nourishment, provisioning, or the act of providing food. In contemporary usage the term is not common in everyday speech and is more often found in historical, administrative, or formal contexts. For everyday nutrition, Estonians regularly use toitumine, which means nutrition or feeding in a general sense.

The word is formed from toit, meaning food, together with the abstract-noun suffix -lus, which creates nouns that express a state, quality, or process. This morphological pattern is typical for Estonian and yields concepts related to provisioning or supplying.

In historical and administrative texts, toitlus can denote the provisioning of food to a population, such as rationing or organized food-supply measures. It can also refer more broadly to nourishment supplied by institutions, for example in hospitals, schools, or military settings. In modern language, its use tends to be limited to formal or historical discussion of food provisioning rather than everyday nutrition.

Related terms include toit (food) and toitumine (nutrition). The concept of toitlus is distinct from individual eating and is more closely related to the logistics, sufficiency, or administration of food provision for groups or institutions.