Metabolisoituutermi

Metabolisoituutermi is a term used in linguistics to describe a form of semantic change in which the meaning of a word or phrase is transformed as if metabolized within a discourse. A metabolisoituutermi emerges when a term acquires new senses through metaphorical processing of its core concept into other domains, often through transformation, integration, or recontextualization within social, technological, or scientific systems, while retaining traces of its original sense.

Origin and coinage: The word is a neologism formed from the Finnish verb metabolisoida (to metabolize) and the noun termi (term). It is used primarily in Finnish-language linguistics, media studies and digital humanities to label a dynamic type of semantic drift observed in contemporary discourse.

Mechanisms: Metabolic extension describes the expansion of a term’s domain of reference as it is applied to related fields or processes. Metabolic integration refers to the adoption of a term into adjacent domains, often bringing along metaphorical baggage from its original context. Metabolic recontextualization occurs when old senses are repurposed to describe new phenomena, producing new polysemous meanings and connections.

Examples: In media discussions, the idea of “politiikan metabolisoituminen” is used to describe how political language migrates from issue-specific debates into broader cultural narratives, reinterpreting prior positions. In technology discourse, a term originally tied to system optimization may become a general metaphor for organizational adaptation and change.

Reception: Analysts view the concept as a useful label for rapid semantic drift, but some critics argue that it is vague and overlaps with existing notions of metaphor, polysemy, and semantic change.

See also: semantic shift, metaphor, polysemy, conceptual metaphor.