Etymology

finite

fi·nite
F4I1N1I1T1E1

Today it means: Having an end or limit; (of a quantity) constrained by bounds; (of a set) whose number of elements is a natural number. Full definition →

First used 19th c.Middle English fynyte ← Latin fīnītus
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Latin · derived fromfīnītus
  2. Middle English · inherited fromfynyte
  3. English todayfinite

The adjective is derived from Middle English fynyte, finit, from Latin fīnītus, perfect passive participle of fīniō (“to finish; to terminate”), from fīnis (“boundary”). The word displaced Old English ġeendodlīċ. The noun is derived from the adjective.

Words from the same roots

Latinfīnītus all →

finito

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th c. Limited by (i.e. inflected for) person or number.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.