yleistyivät

Yleistyivät is the past tense plural form of the Finnish verb yleistyä, meaning that something became widespread or generalized. The form is used when several subjects or a group underwent the process of becoming general or common, often describing social practices, technologies, norms, or ideas that spread across a population or region.

Etymology and morphology: yleistyä is formed from yleis- meaning general and the suffix -ty- that creates intransitive verbs meaning “to become.” The ending -ivät marks the past tense and third-person plural, so yleistyivät literally translates to “they became widespread/general.” The related noun yleistyminen refers to the process itself, while yleisyys denotes generality or commonness.

Usage: The term is common in academic writing, journalism, and historical descriptions to describe diffusion or adoption of practices, technologies, or ideas. It often contrasts with more localized or singular cases. Related concepts include yleistyminen (the process of generalizing) and yleinen (general) or yleisyys (commonness).

Examples:

Finnish: Uudet hygieniamääräykset yleistyivät nopeasti koko kaupungissa.

English: The new hygiene regulations became widespread quickly across the city.

Finnish: Käytännöt yleistyivät kouluyhteisössä.

English: The practices became common in the school community.