Eristää

Eristää is a Finnish verb with several related meanings that center on separation, isolation, or insulation. The core idea is to create a boundary that keeps something apart from others or protects it from external influence.

The primary sense is isolating or keeping something away from contact with others. This can refer to people, groups, or areas, for example to prevent the spread of illness or to protect a person from external factors. Examples: potilas eristettiin infektion leviämisen estämiseksi; kaupunki eristettiin liikennerajoitusten vuoksi. Eristäminen can also describe separating objects or spaces for safety or control, such as isolating a faulty component in a system.

A second common sense is insulation in a technical or material sense. Eristää means to insulate against heat, electricity, or sound. Examples: johtimet on eristetty turvallisuussyistä; talon äänieristys paranee. The related noun eristys refers to the insulation or isolation itself, and adjektive eristetty means insulated or isolated.

In a broader sense, eristää can denote setting something apart within a system or process, for example to prevent interference or to facilitate measurement. In this sense it is often used in technical, medical, or security contexts.

Notes: Eristää is contrasted with erottaminen, which more specifically means to differentiate or separate conceptually or physically. Grammatically, eristää follows typical Finnish verb conjugation: minä eristän, sinä eristät, hän eristää, me eristämme, te eristätte, he eristävät. Past tense forms are eristin, eristit, eristi, eristimme, eristitte, eristivät; passive is eristettiin.