Kynnyys

Kynnyys is a Finnish noun that translates literally to “threshold,” the point at which a change occurs. The word originates from the Old Norse root *kynnir*, meaning “stepping stone,” and has been used in Finnish since the Middle Ages to describe the physical threshold of a door or the figurative point of transition. In everyday speech it indicates the moment when a particular condition no longer holds—the turning point from one state to another.

In societal contexts kynnyys is often employed to describe the critical mass at which a social movement gains momentum. The term has therefore appeared in studies of political mobilization, where researchers identify a “kynnyys” in the rise of public opinion or the outbreak of protest. In economics the notion is echoed by the phrase “threshold effect,” used to describe a predetermined level of supply or demand that triggers a non‑linear response in markets.

In the physical sciences, kynnyys is adapted to refer to the point of phase transition, such as the temperature at which water boils or the pressure at which a material changes its structural phase. Engineers sometimes speak of the “kynnys” of a machine’s operating range, indicating the limit below which performance degrades sharply.

Thus, kynnyys functions as both a literal and metaphorical marker, indicating precisely where one condition gives way to another across disciplines.