väikse

Väikse is an Estonian word form associated with the adjective väike, meaning small or little. It is not a separate lexeme in modern standard Estonian. Instead, väikse is primarily found as a historical or dialectal variant, where it may appear in older texts or regional speech patterns. In contemporary standard Estonian, the genitive singular form of väike is väikese, and other inflections follow regular adjective declension.

Usage and notes: Väikse is occasionally cited in linguistic descriptions as an archaic or nonstandard form. Its appearance indicates dialectal variation or older orthography, and it is rarely used in everyday language. Learners of Estonian are unlikely to encounter väikse outside of historical texts.

Origin and related forms: Väike derives from a Finnic root shared with related languages; väikse represents an historical or dialectal variant of the stem. The common modern forms include väike, väikese, väikest, and väikesed, depending on case and number.

See also: väike; väikesed; väiksus.