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definite

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Etymology and origin of the English word definite

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1530, J. Palsgrave, Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse
Borrowed from
Latin definitus
Ultimate origin
Latin fīnis

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈdɛfɪnɪt/[1]
  • US: /ˈdɛfɪnɪt/, /ˈdɛfənɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dēfīnītus (“defined, bounded, limited, precise”), the past participle of dēfīniō (“to limit, determine, explain”),[2][3][4][5] from dē- (“completely”) and fīniō (“to bound, limit”), from fīnis (“boundary, end”),[3][6] the source also of define and finish.[3][7] The American Heritage Dictionary gives a Middle English form diffinite (“defined”).[7] The OED compares obsolete Middle French définit, recorded in 1504.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, something definite, especially a definite tense in grammar: 1530, in Palsgrave's Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse.[2] As an adjective, having fixed limits, exact: 1553, in Thomas Wilson's Arte of Rhetorique.[2][4] Etymonline dates the adjective "fixed, certain, precise" to about 1500 and "having fixed limits" to the 1550s;[3] Dictionary.com gives 1520–30 and Collins the 15th century.[8][9]

Semantic evolution

Shakespeare applied the word to people, in Cymbeline (a1616): "Ideots, in this case of favour, would Be wisely definite".[2][10] Johnson (1755) defined it as certain, limited, bounded, and exact, precise, and recorded a noun meaning a thing explained or defined, which is now obsolete.[10][2] From 1728 grammarians called the article the definite (Etymonline: 1727),[2][3] and used definite for the inflections of adjectives that follow it in German and early English (1874).[2] Botany took it up for an inflorescence whose main axis ends in the first flower to open (1876) and for flower parts of fixed number (1839),[2] and philosophy for Bertrand Russell's definite descriptions (1911).[2]

Timeline

  • about 1500 – fixed, certain, precise, in Etymonline's dating.[3]
  • 1530 – noun, a definite tense.[2]
  • 1553 – having fixed limits; exact.[2][4]
  • a1616 – of a person, decided in opinion.[2]
  • 1728 – (grammar) the definite article.[2]
  • 1839 – (botany) of flower parts, of fixed number.[2]
  • 1876 – (botany) of an inflorescence, ending in a flower.[2]
  • 1911 – (philosophy) a definite description.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Clearly defined, exact and free of doubt: We need a definite answer by Friday.
  2. Having fixed or precise limits: a definite period.
  3. Known for certain; sure, or (of a person) sure and firm in opinion.
  4. Clear and unmistakable: a definite improvement.
  5. (grammar) Of an article or other word, pointing out a particular, known individual, as the does in English.
  6. (botany) Of growth or an inflorescence, with the main stem ending in a flower; of flower parts, fixed in number.

Noun

  1. (grammar) A definite verb form or a noun denoting a definite thing.

Word family

  • definitely
  • definiteness
  • definitize
  • definitude
  • nondefinite
  • semidefinite
  • undefinite
  • definite article

Usage notes

Etymonline distinguishes definite, clear and precise, from definitive, having the character of finality, and Dictionary.com also treats the pair as easily confused.[3][8]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Definite.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/definite. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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