ajastus

Ajastus is a Finnish noun that denotes the act or process of determining when something should happen. It encompasses the idea of timing, scheduling, or coordinating events to align with a clock, plan, or sequence. In English, it is commonly translated as timing or scheduling and is used to describe how and when actions are set to take place.

The term is formed from the root aika, meaning time, with the nominalising suffix -stus. It is closely related to the verb ajastaa (to time or schedule something) and the adjective ajastettu (timed). This relationship reflects its function as a concept applied to control or plan when events occur.

Ajastus appears in both everyday language and specialized discourse. In everyday use, it can refer to time management and the planning of daily activities. In music, ajastus may describe the coordination of tempo and the timing of notes. In media production and broadcasting, it relates to the timing of shots, cues, and releases. In engineering and manufacturing, it can denote the scheduling of processes or the synchronization of equipment.

In Finnish, ajastus is part of a broader vocabulary around time management and coordination, with related terms such as ajastaminen (timing activity), ajastin (timer), and ajastettu (timed). The concept is primarily linguistic and practical, applied across disciplines wherever precise timing and sequencing are important.