Jäämä

Jäämä is a Finnish noun meaning a floating piece of ice that has calved from a glacier or ice shelf and drifts on a body of water. It refers to an ice fragment substantial enough to be distinguished as a floe; larger ones may be described as icebergs (jäävuori), though jäämä itself emphasizes the floating remnant rather than size.

In natural settings, jäämät form when chunks of ice break away from larger ice masses and are carried by currents, wind, and waves. They vary in size and temperature, and can persist for days or weeks depending on conditions. Jäämät pose hazards to ships, offshore platforms, and coastal operations, and are tracked in ice charts and weather forecasts.

Etymology: the word derives from jää, meaning ice, combined with a suffix that forms a noun describing a mass or remnant. In figurative usage, jäämä can denote something that remains or is left over after other parts are gone, akin to remnant.

See also: jäänmurtaja; jäävuori; merijää; jäätikkö.