Remember those sweatshirts with the slogan „Kaitsetahe” (“the will to defend”) written across the front? They appeared in Estonia in 2022, when president Zelensky visited Estonia soon after Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine had started. He was presented with the sweatshirt, and the item proved to be so popular that additional ones had to be commissioned.
Time has passed since then, three years to be precise. On top of„kaitsetahe”, the will to defend oneself and one’s country, greater capacity and action is needed in order to actually defend ourselves. Commander-in-chief of the Estonian Defence Forces, Major General Andrus Merilo, has recently said that we cannot think in terms of the economy and budget balance when it comes to defending ourselves from invaders. What we need is „heidutusvõime.”
Now what is that?
The Estonian term encyclopedia for national defence, Milterm (sonaveeb.ee/ds/mil) tells us that „heidutus” is equivalent to the word “deterrence” in English. It may sound parochial to say this, but in my opinion, „heidutusvõime” is a much more beautiful word than its English counterpart. So let’s explore it a bit.
For one thing, it’s a compound word. „Võime” is indicative of capacity or agency. It’s related to the words „võim” (power), „võima” (to be capable of), „võit” (victory, gain, great achievement, or a situation where the winner can exercise some power over the ones that did not win). This one is pretty clear and straightforward. But what about „heidutus?”
The -us ending is a relatively recent innovation in Estonian grammar, indicating an artificially created abstraction. Compare the following: pehme (soft) > pehmus (softness), parem (better) > paremus (better quality) and so on. The -us endingturns the source verb „heidutama” into an abstract noun, heidutus. Something that is the result of that particular activity, to deter. “Don’t even think about it!” is a good example of deterrance in a verbal form.
Now, what is „heidutama?” Once again, it contains some peculiar grammatical elements that complicate how we get to its original meaning. The -ta suffix indicates causality: it brings along the state of heituma. (You may notice that there is a letter t in the middle of that verb instead of the letter d, but we’ll leave that to another time. Just be assured that it’s still the same word.)
So, what does „heituma” mean? To be afraid, scared, timid, ready to drop whatever activity you had in mind. That -u inbetween that deceptive -t and the verb ending -ma adds another grammatical layer to the word: it’s reflexive, indicating that the verb expresses activity directed to the speaker themself, or activity that is initiated by the same person. The one who is doing something causes a change in themself as a result of that activity. For example: heit-u-ma—it is my personal impulse to become scared. Riiet-u-ma—I get myself dressed. Visk-u-ma—I throw myself into a certain substance (such as mud) or activity (such as reading the news).
The word actually originates from an ancient Gothic word for sowing or throwing. The traditional sowing of seeds happens by throwing them around freshly ploughed fields, handful by handful.
When we set aside the self-reflexive -u, we start approaching the root of the verb: „heitma.” The Estonian dictionary of word origins tells us it’s a word that’s known only among the Finnic languages that have historically been spoken on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. The word actually originates from an ancient Gothic word for sowing or throwing. The traditional sowing of seeds happens by throwing them around freshly ploughed fields, handful by handful.
Remember those lines from Kalevipoeg that go, „Esimesed heidetakse, tagumised tapetakse, keskmised koju tulevad“? “The frontmen will be thrown over, the last ones in the ranks will be killed, but the ones who stand in the middle will come back home [after the battle].” When there’s a battle, some loss is granted. Some will fall.
What is important from the linguistic perspective is that the verb „heitma” has found its way into even Estonian runic verses. This should assure us of the centuries-long practice of „heidutus” that has grown into „heidutusvõime”, deterrence capacity. It better be very convincing.
