soortelijk

Soortelijk is a Dutch adjective that denotes relation to a kind, type, or class. It can describe something as being characteristic of a particular sort or as belonging to a specific category. In everyday language it is relatively rare, and its nuance is often replaced by more common words such as specifiek, kenmerkend, or soortgebonden, depending on the context. In technical or formal text, however, soortelijk is still found, especially in compound terms.

Etymology: Formed from soort (kind, sort) with the suffix -elijk, yielding soortelijk meaning “pertaining to a kind” or “of a kind.” The word typically appears in compounds rather than alone.

One of the best-known uses is in the term soortelijk gewicht, usually translated as specific gravity. This is the ratio of a substance's density to the density of water at a reference temperature, a dimensionless quantity used in physics and engineering. The concept can also appear in older texts to express a characteristic or essential property of a material, for example “het soortelijk kenmerk” or similar phrases, though this usage is less common in contemporary prose.

In contemporary Dutch, if a non-technical meaning is intended, writers tend to replace soortelijk with specific or kenmerkend, as appropriate. The term remains most common in scientific and technical contexts. See also: soort, soortelijk gewicht, dichtheid, specifiek gewicht.