imetämme

Imetämme is a Finnish verb form meaning “we suck,” “we draw,” or “we absorb,” depending on the context. It is the present indicative form used with the first-person plural subject to describe an action performed by the speaker together with others. The verb stem is imet-, and the ending -ämme marks the 1st person plural in the present tense.

In Finnish, imetämme is a transitive verb and can take a direct object in the partitive or other cases, depending on the nuance of the action. The form illustrates the standard two-party makeup of Finnish conjugation, where the subject-bearing ending changes with person and number while the stem remains stable. The exact meaning of imetämme is determined by the object and context, ranging from a literal sucking or drawing action to a figurative sense such as drawing resources or attention.

Common usage notes include the fact that broader sense of “to breastfeed” is usually expressed with related forms such as imettää or imetys, which refer to the act of feeding a baby rather than the general act of sucking. Imetämme, in contrast, is more often encountered in everyday description of actions involving sucking or drawing by a group, or in metaphorical constructions where the collective action of drawing something is emphasized.

Etymologically, imet- derives from a Finnic root associated with “sucking” or “drawing.” It is cognate with related Finnish forms and mirrors similar valences across Finnic languages. See also imetys (breastfeeding) and imettää (to cause to suck).