Poikkeavan

Poikkeavan is the genitive singular form of the Finnish adjective poikkeava, which means deviant, atypical, or unusual. The form is used to modify a noun that appears in the genitive case, reflecting agreement in number and case between the adjective and the noun.

In practice, poikkeavan appears in noun phrases such as poikkeavan ilmiön tutkimus (the study of a deviant phenomenon) or poikkeavan käytöksen syyt (the reasons for deviant behavior). The corresponding partitive form is poikkeavaa, used when the object is indefinite, as in poikkeavaa ilmiötä (an anomalous phenomenon). The adjective poikkeava has a range of nuances from simply atypical to clearly nonconforming, depending on context.

Usage and nuance: poikkeava describes something that deviates from a norm, standard, or expectation. It is common in scientific discourse (for example, in psychology, sociology, or natural sciences) but also occurs in everyday language to characterize unusual observations, results, or behavior. Synonyms include poikkeuksellinen (exceptional, extraordinary) and epätavallinen (unfamiliar, uncommon), while poikkeus means an exception.

Etymology and related forms: poikkeava stems from the Finnish verb poiketa, meaning to deviate, with the standard adjectival suffix -va. Related nouns include poikkeus (an exception or deviation) and poikkeama (a deviation or variance). The root concept underpins both linguistic usage and the broader idea of departures from expected patterns.