tarrautuvat

Tarrautuvat is the third-person plural present tense form of the Finnish verb tarrautua, which means to cling to, hold fast to, or attach oneself to something. The verb describes a persistent or tenacious act of gripping, either physically (grasping onto a surface or object) or metaphorically (holding on to beliefs, habits, or ideas). As an intransitive verb, tarrautua often takes a complement indicating what is being held onto, for example with phrases meaning to cling to something or to hold on tightly.

Etymology and usage notes: tarrautua is built from tarra, meaning a grip or grip-like hold, with the typical Finnish -utua infinitive suffixes. The form tarrautuvat explicitly marks a plural subject performing the action in the present tense. Tarrautua is commonly used in naturalistic descriptions (for instance, animals clinging to surfaces or plants attaching to substrates) as well as in metaphorical language (people tarrautuvat uskomuksiin, to beliefs).

Typical constructions: tarrautua jhk (to cling to something), tarrautua kiinni (to hold on tightly), and metaphorical uses such as tarrautua johonkin käsitykseen or tarrautua uskomuksiin. In scientific writing, tarrautuvat can describe organisms that attach themselves to substrates, such as mussels tarrautuvat kalliopintaan, or lianas tarrautuvat puihin.

See also: tarttua (to grab onto), kiinnittyä (to adhere), tarra (grip/adhesive). Tarrautuvat is a regular, neutral verb form used to convey a concrete or figurative act of clinging by plural subjects.