kostuvuus

Kostuvuus is a Finnish term that is not widely standardized in everyday language but is used in some technical and scholarly texts to describe a property related to moisture. Broadly, it denotes the state or tendency of a material or substance to contain, absorb, retain, or become damp under certain humidity conditions. The word is formed from kosteus, meaning moisture, with the common nominal suffix -vuus, which marks a state or quality.

In practice, kostuvuus is most often encountered in discussions of hygroscopicity or moisture behavior. In material science, it can describe how readily a substance absorbs moisture from the environment and how that moisture affects its weight, dimensions, or mechanical properties. In forestry, wood science, textiles, and construction materials, kostuvuus helps explain changes in texture, strength, or dimensional stability due to humidity. In soils and geology, it may pertain to hygroscopic moisture content and related processes.

Usage and references: kostuvuus is not a term found in standard dictionaries as a common everyday word, and its precise meaning can vary by discipline. When used, it is advisable to define the term explicitly and specify the context (for example, “the kostuvuus of this material under X% relative humidity” or “soil kostuvuus pertaining to hygroscopic moisture”). Related concepts include kosteus (moisture) and kuivuus (dryness).