saastav

Saastav is an Estonian adjective meaning polluting or capable of causing pollution. It is used to describe substances, processes, or activities that contribute to environmental contamination. The term is derived from the noun saaste, meaning pollution, with the adjectival suffix -v.

Etymology and cognates: The root saast- appears in related Finnic languages; a close cognate in Finnish is saastava, meaning “polluting.” Saastav is formed to function as an attributive descriptor in Estonian, typically modifying nouns such as aine or tegevus.

Usage: In environmental policy, science, and technical language, saastav is used to qualify emissions, wastes, or practices. Common compounds include saastav aine (polluting substance) and saastav tegevus (polluting activity). In everyday Estonian, saaste is more widely used to refer to pollution in general, while saastav tends to appear in formal or specialized contexts.

See also: Saaste (pollution) and saasteaine (polluting substance). Translations into English depend on context, with possible renderings such as “polluting” or “polluting substance.”