finial

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰeyd-“to split”
2. Latin · derived fromfīnālis“of or pertaining to the end of something, final; of or pertaining to boundaries”
3. Old French · derived fromfinal“last, final; definitive”
4. Middle English · inherited fromfinial“(adjective) final; (noun) ornament at the upper extremity of a pinnacle, spire, etc.”
5. English todayfinial

From Late Middle English finial (“(adjective) final; (noun) ornament at the upper extremity of a pinnacle, spire, etc.”) [and other forms], a variant of final (“pertaining to the close or end of something, last, final”), from Old French final (“last, final; definitive”) (modern French final), from Latin fīnālis (“of or pertaining to the end of something, final; of or pertaining to boundaries”), from fīnis (“a border; an end”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”) or *dʰeygʷ- (“to set up; to stick”)) + -ālis (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining’ to forming adjectives).

Words from the same roots