keskeytys

Keskeytys is a Finnish noun meaning interruption, stoppage, or discontinuation. It denotes a temporary halt in an activity, a break in a process, or the cancellation of an ongoing event. The term is widely used across everyday language as well as in technical, medical, and administrative contexts.

The word comes from the verb keskeyttää (to interrupt, to halt) and is formed with the nominalizing suffix -tys. Related forms include keskeyttämis- (as in keskeyttäminen, the act of interrupting) and keskeytyminen (the state or event of being interrupted).

In daily language, keskeytys describes interruptions in communication or travel, such as puhelun keskeytys (an interrupted call) or matkan keskeytys (cancellation of a trip). In technology and computing, it refers to an interrupt signal or a pause in a program or process (tietokoneen keskeytys; keskeytyminen of a process). In broadcasting or media, it may indicate a temporary halt of transmission.

In sports and public events, keskeytys can refer to a stoppage of play, a timeout, or a pause in proceedings. Legally and administratively, it can mean the suspension or termination of actions, orders, or procedures, for example during a pause in a case or a halt in a project.

In medicine, keskeytys is commonly used to denote termination of pregnancy (raskauden keskeytys); a spontaneous miscarriage is typically referred to as keskenmeno, whereas keskeytys emphasizes intentional termination in many contexts.