-vi

See also: Appendix:Variations of "vi"

Finnish

Alternative forms

• -pi

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *-bi, weak grade of *-pi, derived from Proto-Finnic *-pa (participle ending). Compare Estonian -b.

Suffix

-vi

1. An archaic/poetic variant of the standard third-person present.
   • 1849, Elias Lönnrot, “Pream”, in John Martin Crawford, transl., Kalevala‎:

     Mieleni minun tekevi, aivoni ajattelevi, lähteäni laulamahan, saa’ani sanelemahan, sukuvirttä suoltamahan, lajivirttä laulamahan.

     Mastered by desire impulsive, by a mighty inward urging, I am ready now for singing, ready to begin the chanting.

Usage notes

In modern Finnish, the singular third-person present is formed by lengthening the final stem vowel (see -V).