valmistati

Valmistati is an Estonian verb form meaning “was prepared.” It is the past passive form of valmistama, the verb meaning “to prepare” or “to make ready.” The suffix -ati marks the past passive, used to describe events or actions carried out in the past without specifying the agent.

Usage in Estonian is common in formal writing, news reports, historical descriptions, and instructional contexts such as recipes. The subject of the sentence typically appears before the verb, for example: Toit valmistati kiiresti — The food was prepared quickly.

The form is one of several passive and tense variants used in Estonian. Present passive is valmistatakse, while other tenses or voices combine different auxiliaries or verb endings. Valmistati is often contrasted with the present passive or with active past forms to convey agency, time, and aspect as needed by the text.

Etymology and cognates: valmistati derives from the stem valmist- and the adjective valmis meaning “ready.” It shares a common origin with cognate forms in related Finnic languages; for instance, Finnish has valmisti- and valmiste the corresponding constructions, though with language-specific spelling and grammar.

See also: valmistama (to prepare/make ready); valmis (ready); passive voice in Estonian; Finnic cognates in Estonian and Finnish.