Tihendama

Tihendama is an Estonian verb meaning to make something denser or more compact. The core sense is to increase density through measures that reduce volume or space between elements. It can refer to physical processes, such as compressing a material to raise its density, as well as to figurative concentration, such as crowding people or resources into a smaller area or concentrating information.

The word derives from the noun tihedus, meaning density. Related forms include tihendamine (the process of densification) and tihendatud (dense or compact in the passive/participial sense). The term is used across several domains, often with context to specify what is being densified: in materials science and engineering, in urban planning and geography, and in computing or data handling when referring to compression or reduction of size.

In materials science, tihendamine describes densification through mechanical compaction, heat treatment, or other processes that reduce porosity. In urban planning, urban densification (tihendamine) refers to increasing building density and population concentration within a given area to optimize land use. In information technology and data management, tihendamine is used to denote data compression, where file sizes are reduced to save storage space or bandwidth.

Usage notes: as a versatile, neutral term, tihendama can apply to physical, spatial, and informational contexts. The noun form tihendamine is common in technical and planning literature, while tihedus (density) and tihendatud (dense) are frequent modifiers in descriptive writing. See also tihedus and tihendamine for related concepts.