POTENTSIAALSETEST SÕNADEST LEKSIKA JA GRAMMATIKA VAATENURGAST
Potential Words from Lexical and Grammatical Aspects

Summary/Abstract: Estonian dictionaries contain a number of words that are actually not used. It seems to have become quite a tradition in Estonian lexicography to carry over potential words from dictionary to dictionary decade in, decade out. The article discusses a particular group of such words, notably, 1–2 syllable action nouns, most of which are derivatives on e-suffix. A closer look at the possible reasons motivating the lexicographers to identify and include them reveals, first and foremost, analogy and overestimation of the role of formal similarity of linguistic units. An Estonian verb stem can be nominalized choosing from several suffixes, the use of which is regulated by certain phonological, semantic and positional circum stances. Most of the action nouns are formed by adding the highly productive suffix -mine, which nominalizes nearly without constraints. The suffix -e, however, is mainly used to form idiosyncratic verbal nouns, cf. oota/ma, ooda/ta ’to wait’ > oota-mine ’waiting’; ood-e, Gen oot|e ’light meal’. Note that a formally similar e-stem often also occurs as the first constituent of a nominal compound, referring to a more general action, cf. oota/ma ’wait’ and oot-e+ruum ’waiting room’. This first constituent has, however, been misinterpreted as the genitive stem of a potential nominative base form oode ’waiting’. A similar misinterpretation concerns the so-called synthetic compounds: cf. ette kand/ma ’to read a paper ’> ette+kanne ’paper; speech’ > kann-e ’carrying’, where the final bound constituent of a compound has been misinterpreted as the nominative case of an e-suffixed derivative and entered in the dictionary as a separate headword.

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