Kausittainen

Kausittainen is a Finnish adjective meaning seasonal or related to a season or fixed time period. It is formed from the noun kausi, which means season or term, with the suffix -ittainen that creates adjectives describing a characteristic tied to the base noun. The term is used to describe phenomena that occur or recur in specific seasons or during particular time intervals.

In usage, kausittainen describes events, conditions, or patterns that are not constant year-round but depend on seasonal factors. Common contexts include kausittainen työ (seasonal work), kausittainen kysyntä (seasonal demand), and kausittainen hintakehitys (seasonal price movements). In statistics and economics, the related concept of seasonal variation is frequently discussed as kausittainen vaihtelu, and data analyses may include seasonal adjustment to separate underlying trends from kausittainen vaihtelu.

The term is typically contrasted with ideas such as jatkuva (continuous) or satunnainen (random), emphasizing regularity and repetition tied to seasons or periodic terms rather than irregularity. Kausittainen can also describe processes that are not tied to the calendar year alone but to defined cycles, such as fiscal terms or agricultural seasons.

Etymology-wise, kausittainen derives from kausi with the productive suffix -ittainen, forming a word that characterizes something by its seasonal or cyclical nature. Related terms in Finnish include kausi (season/term), kausittain (seasonally or periodically), and kausivaihtelu (seasonal variation).