Abstract: Estonian words for colours are often produced by adding an adjectival suffix to a noun stem. The most productive adjectival suffix -ne does not change the meaning of the word. The meaning of adjectives with the suffixes ‑kas and ‑jas, which occur frequently among colour names, depends on the part of speech of the derivation base. Denominal adjectives describe the colour on the basis of its similarity to an object (e.g. savikas ‘clay-coloured’ Est ordijoon, ort, etc.). Colour naming represents an open system in Estonian and everybody can...
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