riknemine

Riknemine is an Estonian noun meaning deterioration, damage, or malfunction affecting objects, systems, or processes. It is derived from the verb riknema, meaning to become damaged or to break, and is used across technical and everyday contexts.

In technical usage, riknemine denotes progressive decline in functionality or integrity due to wear, fatigue, corrosion, weathering, or other forms of degradation. It can describe physical deterioration of materials, mechanical systems, or infrastructure, but it can also refer to non-physical decline such as reduced performance or quality of a procedure. The term is typically contrasted with repair, maintenance, or replacement, which aim to address or prevent riknemine.

Examples in Estonian include materialide riknemine (wear of materials), konstruktsiooni riknemine (degradation of a structure), seadmete riknemine (equipment failure), and keskkonna riknemine (environmental degradation). In everyday speech, riknemine can describe the state of worn goods, a deteriorating condition, or a faulty device.

Riknemine differs from rikkumine, which in Estonian means breach or violation, whereas riknemine emphasizes the process of deterioration or failure rather than a faulting act.