Peletama

Peletama is an Estonian verb meaning to drive away, banish, dispel, or repel. It is used to describe removing negative forces such as evil, fear, or misfortune, and it can be used both literally (to chase away a threat) and metaphorically (to dispel doubt). In religious, folkloric, and ceremonial contexts, peletama is common in phrases like peletama kurja, meaning to banish evil.

The infinitive is peletama. In present tense forms, peletan means I banish, peletad means you banish, and peletab means he/she banishes; the forms for we, you all, and they are peletame, pelete, and peletavad respectively. The past tense is formed with regular endings (e.g., peletas; peletasime), and the past participle is peletatud. The verb is transitive and typically takes a direct object in the partitive or accusative, depending on nuance.

Etymology: Peletama is built from the root pelet- with the standard Estonian -ama infinitive suffix, and it belongs to a family of verbs that express causing an action or process. It shares semantic territory with words related to chase away, expel, or dispel, though its exact collocations differ by context.

In contemporary use, peletama is more common in literary, folkloric, or ceremonial language, but it remains understood in everyday speech when describing acts of driving away fear, danger, or misfortune. See also Estonian language; Estonian folklore; exorcism and related cultural practices.