täiskasvanueani

Täiskasvanueani is a historical Estonian temporal expression that has been described as meaning “until adulthood” or “up to the point of becoming an adult.” In traditional use it functioned as an adverbial phrase signifying the end point of a period with respect to reaching adulthood.

Etymology and form: the term builds on täiskasvanu (adult) and a suffix variant of -eani, a productive mechanism in some older Estonian forms to indicate a limit in time. The construction reflects a time-bound sense common to older or regional dialects, where a noun base combines with a time-limit suffix to express closure at a defined threshold.

Usage and status: täiskasvanueani is not part of contemporary standard Estonian and is regarded as archaic or dialectal in many contexts. Modern writers and speakers typically convey the same idea with periphrastic constructions such as kuni täiskasvanuks saamiseni or täiskasvanuseni. Because attested usage is sparse in modern corpora, the term is mainly encountered in historical texts, older literature, or regional speech.

See also: Estonian language, time expressions, suffixes in Estonian word formation, historical linguistics of Estonian.

Notes: Due to its limited contemporary relevance, täiskasvanueani is usually treated as a historical or dialectal variant rather than a living part of standard Estonian. When documenting or translating texts that preserve older language layers, scholars may acknowledge this form and prefer modern equivalents in analysis.