Estonian
/ɛˈstoʊ.ni.ən/noun
Relating to Estonia, its people, or the Estonian language.
Did you know?The English name Estonian comes through Latin and other European forms from the historical name for the people of Estonia, not from any mystical root—yet it preserves one of Europe’s oldest regional identities in a single word.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Roman period
Latin
Aestii
“A name recorded by Roman writers for peoples on the southeastern Baltic coast”
Early Medieval
Proto-Germanic
*Aust-
“East, the direction of the rising sun”
Middle Ages
Old Norse
Eistland
“Estonia; land of the Ests”
16th-19th Century
German/Latin/English
Esthonia / Estonian
“Historical European forms for the country and its people”
Modern English
English
Estonian
“A person from Estonia or the Estonian language”