säilytti

Säilytti is the past tense form of the Finnish verb säilyttää, meaning to keep, preserve or retain. The term can refer to keeping a physical object, maintaining a state or condition, or preserving memories, traditions, or records. It is commonly used in both everyday and written Finnish.

In terms of conjugation, säilyttää is a regular Finnish verb, and säilytti specifically marks third-person singular past. Other past-tense forms include minä säilytin (I kept), sinä säilytit (you kept), me säilytimme (we kept), te säilytititte (you all kept), and he/sitä säilyttivät (they kept). Present tense is säilyttää, and the imperative singular is säilytä, with plural säilyttäkää.

Common usage examples: Hän säilytti kirjan pöydällä koko päivän. The phrase can also be used in more abstract senses, such as preserving data, traditions, or quality: Yhtiö säilytti luottamukselliset tiedot arkistossa. In everyday language, säilyttäminen (the act of keeping/preserving) and säilytys (storage, preservation) are closely related nouns.

Etymology and related terms: säilyttää derives from the root säily-, a common Finnish stem indicating preservation, with the typical -ttää suffix for verb formation. Related words include säilytys (preservation, storage), säilyttäminen (the act of keeping/preserving), and säilyvä (surviving, enduring). The verb remains widely used across formal and informal registers.