Kuvailtava

Kuvailtava is a Finnish adjectival participle meaning describable or capable of being described. It is formed with the participial suffix -tava from the verb kuvaila/kuvata meaning to describe or depict, and from the noun kuvailu meaning description. The result is an adjective that denotes that something can be given a verbal description or detailed account.

In usage, kuvailtava functions as a non-finite attribute or predicate adjective. It can modify a noun to indicate describability, for example in scholarly or analytical writing where the focus is on whether a phenomenon, feature, or data set can be described in words. The form follows ordinary Finnish inflection patterns for adjectives and participles, and its exact case and number endings align with the noun it modifies.

Kuvailtava is most commonly encountered in technical, academic, or methodological contexts, where precision about describability is relevant. It tends to appear in discussions of analysis, interpretation, or methodological descriptions, rather than in casual everyday language.

Related concepts in Finnish include other participial adjectives formed with -tava/-ttava, which express potentiality or suitability with respect to the action of the base verb. While kuvailtava focuses on the possibility of description, other forms may express related notions such as depiction, portrayal, or realization, depending on the verb and context.

Etymologically, kuvailtava derives from kuvailu (description) and the verb kuvaila or kuvata, tied to the act of describing or portraying. The term thus sits at the intersection of language and description, signaling that verbal characterization is possible for the subject at hand.