Muutuslikus

Muutuslikus, or mutability in English, is the quality of being changeable or subject to variation. The term is used across disciplines to describe how states or forms can differ under different conditions. It is formed from muutus (change) and the suffix -likkus, yielding a noun that denotes the property of changeability.

In linguistics, muutuslikus describes how grammatical forms or phonological shapes vary in different contexts, such as inflectional changes or sound shifts that produce alternate surface forms.

In biology and genetics, muutuslikus refers to mutability—the tendency of genetic material to undergo mutations, producing variation that can be acted upon by natural selection.

In computer science, muutuslikus indicates whether data or objects are mutable; some programming languages treat most data as mutable, while others emphasize immutability, influencing software design and safety.

In philosophy, muutuslikus is used to discuss change and permanence, time, and identity, highlighting how some aspects of reality are stable while others vary.

See also: mutability, mutability in programming, immutability, variability, mutation.