kiristys

Kiristys is Finnish, derived from the verb kiristää, meaning to tighten, squeeze, or coerce. The term is used in different but related senses, mainly in legal/criminological and technical contexts, and can also appear in everyday language to describe pressure or coercion.

In the legal sense, kiristys refers to extortion or blackmail. It is a criminal act where a person demands money, property, or other benefits by threatening to cause harm, damage, or to reveal embarrassing information about another person. The act typically requires an underlying threat and an improper demand for material or non-material gain, and it is punishable under the penal law of many jurisdictions. In Finland, kiristys is defined as a criminal offense and can be investigated and prosecuted like other forms of coercion or coercive crime, with penalties depending on the severity and circumstances.

In technical and everyday usage, kiristys means the act of tightening or tensioning components to achieve a required level of tension. This is common in mechanical settings such as belt drives, cable systems, or bolted joints, where correct kiristys prevents slippage and ensures safety and performance. The term is often paired with specific measures, such as torque values (kiristysmomentti) or targeted tension levels, and performed with appropriate tools.

Overall, kiristys denotes either coercive demand in a criminal sense or the mechanical action of tightening, depending on the context. See also extortion, blackmail, and tightening.