Pysyttää

Pysyttää is a Finnish verb meaning to keep someone or something in a given state, position, or from taking an action. It is formed from the verb pysyä (to stay, to remain) with the causative suffix -yttää, which makes the action transitive: the subject causes the object to stay, remain, or be kept from moving or acting.

The word has several related senses. The primary sense is to prevent movement or action, that is, to keep a person or object from moving or to deter someone from doing something. This usage occurs in contexts such as guarding, restraining, or preventing an activity. A second sense is to maintain a state or condition of something, for example keeping equipment in a certain condition or keeping a process from changing. A third nuance is to keep something in check or to slow down a process by restraining progression.

Grammatical notes: pysyttää is a transitive verb; the affected entity (person, object, or process) functions as the object of the verb, while the agent is the subject. The exact construction can vary with context and surrounding phrases, and the object may appear with pronouns or nouns in typical Finnish case endings.

Compared to closely related verbs, pysyttää emphasizes the act of causing someone or something to stay or remain, whereas pysäyttää focuses on bringing something to a halt and estää means to prevent or forbid. In everyday language, pysyttää conveys the sense of maintaining or restraining rather than initiating a new action.