leraktig

Leraktig is a Norwegian adjective describing something that is clay-like or clayey, typically used of soils and sediments with a substantial clay content. The term signals texture and behavior associated with clay minerals, such as plasticity, cohesion, and the tendency to retain water.

Etymology and usage context: The word is formed from ler, meaning clay, with the suffix -aktig, meaning “like” or “resembling.” In technical and agricultural language, leraktig is used to distinguish clay-rich materials from sandy or silty soils. It is common in field reports, soil surveys, and geotechnical assessments to specify texture and its implications for workability, drainage, and stability.

Properties and implications: Leraktig soils are typically fine-grained, with low permeability and high plasticity. They may swell and shrink with moisture changes, affecting structure, foundations, and crop management. In construction, leraktig ground can pose challenges for compaction, drainage, and bearing capacity, and may require remediation or drainage design. In agriculture, these soils can retain nutrients but demand careful moisture management to prevent poor aeration or crusting after rainfall.

Varied usage: While primarily a technical term in Norwegian soil science, leraktig can appear in broader discussions of soil texture to convey the clay-like character of a material. It is often used alongside related terms such as leireholdig (clay-containing) and sandholdig (sandy) to describe the texture spectrum.

See also: Leire, Jordstruktur, Soil texture.