putkimainen

Putkimainen is a Finnish adjective meaning pipe-like or tubular. It is formed from the noun putki meaning “pipe” and the suffix -mainen, which denotes resemblance or characteristic. The term is used to describe objects, structures, or forms that resemble a pipe: elongated, hollow, cylindrical shapes such as a putkimainen kanava (tubular canal) or a putkimainen runko (a hollow cylindrical body). It can also be used metaphorically to describe conduits or networks that function like pipes.

In technical writing, putkimainen is common in fields such as architecture, engineering, biology, and geology when a tubular form is relevant. It is often contrasted with more angular or irregular shapes. The English equivalents are tubular, cylindrical, or pipe-like, though the Finnish term carries a precise sense of a hollow, seamless tube.

See also: Tube, Pipe, Tubular.

Examples of use: The specimen displayed a putkimainen rakenne, suggesting transport through a hollow lumen. A putkimainen kanava connected two chambers.