Emävyys

Emävyys is a Finnish noun that denotes the state or quality of being a female parent, i.e., a dam, or having maternal characteristics. The word is formed from emä (female parent, dam) and the abstract-noun suffix -vyys, which signals a quality or condition.

The term is mainly used in specialized contexts such as animal breeding, genetics, and farm management. In these fields emävyys can refer to the dam’s status within a breeding program, her maternal traits, or the influence of maternal lineage on offspring. A closely related concept in breeding terminology is emäpolvi, meaning the maternal line or dam lineage.

In everyday Finnish, emävyys is uncommon and may be replaced by more general terms such as äitiys (motherhood) or other phrases describing maternal qualities. When used in human contexts, emävyys is typically avoided in favor of standard expressions for motherhood.

Overall, emävyys is a neutral, technical term primarily encountered in discussions of animal reproduction and breeding genetics rather than in general language. See also emä, emäpolvi, and äitiys for related notions of parenthood and maternal lineage.