kiehtoi

Kiehtoi is the past tense form of the Finnish verb kiehtoa, which means to fascinate, allure, or attract. It is used to describe something that captured or held someone’s attention in the past. The sense can range from a captivating story to an engaging idea or a striking performance.

In usage, kiehtoa is a transitive verb. The subject of the sentence is the thing that fascinated, while the person who was fascinated is expressed as the object in the sentence, typically in the partitive or accusative form. Examples include: “Se kiehtoi minua” (It fascinated me) and “Kohde kiehtoi yleisöä” (The subject fascinated the audience). The form kiehtoi appears in third-person singular past tense, and other conjugations exist for different subjects and tenses.

The word belongs to a family that includes kiehtoa (to fascinate), kiehtova (fascinating), and kiehtovuus (fascination). It is commonly used in everyday Finnish as well as in literature, journalism, and formal writing to convey a strong positive attraction or interest.

Etymologically, kiehtoa is a native Finnish verb; its exact historical development is not always specified in contemporary sources, but it is well established in modern Finnish.

See also: kiehtoa, kiehtova, kiehtovuus.