käivates

Käivates is a term in Estonian linguistics referring to the present active participle form of the verb käivitama, meaning to start or activate. In linguistic terms it is used as an attributive adjective to describe something that initiates or triggers an action. It is commonly found in technical or procedural language to denote devices, software, or processes that perform an activation function. The form is non-finite and generally agrees with the noun it modifies in number, case, and definiteness according to standard Estonian participle inflection.

Etymology and meaning: käivates is derived from käivitama, by applying the standard Estonian participle formation. It shares semantic connections with related terms such as käivitamine (activation) and käivitus (start-up event), though these nouns have distinct uses.

Usage notes: Käivates should be distinguished from other similar forms that indicate possibility or obligation, such as käivitatav (that can be started) or käivitatud (started). In practice the present active participle is more common in technical writing than in casual speech, and may appear in manuals, specifications, and software documentation to describe activating functions or processes.

See also: Käivitama; Käivitamine; Käivitus.