Perittyjä

Perittyjä is Finnish for “inherited” and functions as the plural form of the adjective peritty. It is used to describe features, conditions, or items that are transmitted from one generation to the next. Common collocations include perittyjä ominaisuuksia, perittyjä sairauksia and perittyjä piirteitä.

Etymology and grammar: Peritty is a past participle formed from the verb periyttää, meaning to pass down, with the related verb periytyä meaning to be inherited. In Finnish, perittyjä is the plural partitive form used when the descriptor modifies a plural noun in an indefinite quantity, as in perittyjä ominaisuuksia.

Usage: The term is widely used in genetics and medicine to denote heritable traits or diseases, such as perittyjä sairauksia. It also appears in broader contexts to refer to characteristics or practices transmitted through families or cultures, for example perittyjä piirteitä like eye color, body traits, or other familial features. In everyday language, perittyjä helps distinguish inherited attributes from those acquired through environment or experience.

Related terms and distinctions: Perinnöllinen is a more formal or technical synonym meaning hereditary or genetic. Perintö refers to inheritance in the legal or property sense. The distinction between peritty and perinnöllinen is often a matter of nuance; peritty describes what is passed down, while perinnöllinen emphasizes the genetic or hereditary nature of the trait.

See also: Heredity, genetics, familial traits, and inheritance in Finnish language usage.