võngetakse

Võngetakse is an Estonian verb form derived from the infinitive võngetama. The word appears in contemporary Estonian as the third-person singular present tense, meaning “they wrap” or “it is wrapped.” Võngetama is a transitive verb that can describe the act of bundling, wrapping, or securing an object with a strip of cloth or other material. In everyday speech it can refer to wrapping food, tying a bundle of firewood, or securing a package. The verb is a regular -ma inflection; its stem is võnget-, and the tense marker –akse is combined with the personal suffix –akse to form võngetakse.

The origin of võngetama lies in older Estonian dialects, where the root võnget was associated with “binding” or “wrapping” in a manner similar to the Dutch word vouwen (“to fold”). The usage has survived in rural and artisanal contexts. In modern Estonian, it is occasionally used figuratively to describe limiting or enclosing space, as in the phrase “to window the entry” or “to cordon off.” Language corpora show that võngetakse is most often found in contexts dealing with packing, cooking, or construction, where an object is secured by wrapping or binding. While the verb’s primary meaning remains concrete, its figurative application underscores a sense of restriction or protection. In sum, võngetakse remains a useful form for describing wrapping or binding actions in both literal and metaphorical contexts within Estonian.