indefinite

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin indēfīnītus (“indefinite, undefined”),^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} formed from in- (“not”) and dēfīnītus (“defined, set within limits”),^[2][8][6] the past participle of dēfīniō (“to limit, determine”),^[4][9][6] itself from dē- and fīniō (“to bound, limit”), from fīnis (“boundary, end”).^[3] The English word is thus the negative of definite.^[2][5] Barnhart instead takes it as formed in Middle English from in- (“not”) and definite, modelled on the Latin adjective and adverb indēfīnītē.^[10][11] The OED compares French indéfini, used by Montaigne in the 16th century,^[2] and Johnson gave indefinit beside the Latin.^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

In grammar, of verb tenses that denote an action at some time without saying whether it is complete: 1530, in Palsgrave's Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse.^[2] Hoad likewise notes that the word was first used in grammar, in the 16th century.^[13] Barnhart finds it implied earlier, probably about 1425, in the adverb indefinitely.^[10][11]

Semantic evolution

From grammar the word passed into general use: by 1561, in Thomas Norton's translation of Calvin, it meant having no clearly defined character, vague or undefined,^[2] and Etymonline gives "not precise, vague" as its sense in the 1520s.^[3] By 1594, in Nashe's Unfortunate Traveller, it was used of an extent, amount or number left undetermined.^[2] From 1664 to 1745 it sometimes meant boundless or infinite,^[2] although Johnson (1755) defined it, beside "not determined; not limited; not settled", as large beyond human comprehension but not absolutely without limits.^[12] The Century Dictionary, quoted by Etymonline, says that in reference to number the term was introduced by Pascal, and that Descartes distinguished the indefinite, which has no particular limit, from the infinite.^[3] Technical senses followed: in grammar, of words such as pronouns and articles that do not point out a particular person or thing (1727, in Bailey's dictionary); in logic, of propositions without a mark of quantity (1773); and in botany, of stems and inflorescences that go on growing (1849, 1876).^[2] A verb to indefinite it, to speak indefinitely, is recorded once, in 1656.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1425 – implied in the adverb indefinitely, according to Barnhart.^[10][11]
• 1530 – in grammar, of verb tenses that do not specify completion.^[2][4]
• 1561 – without clearly defined character; vague, undefined.^[2]
• 1594 – of undetermined extent, amount or number.^[2]
• 1656 – the verb to indefinite it, recorded once.^[2]
• 1664 – boundless, infinite (obsolete by 1745).^[2]
• 1727 – in grammar, of pronouns, adjectives and adverbs that do not define the person or thing meant.^[2]
• 1773 – in logic, of propositions with no mark of quantity.^[2]
• 1849 – in botany, of vascular bundles that grow indefinitely.^[2]
• 1876 – in botany, of an inflorescence whose main axis keeps growing.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not clearly defined or settled; vague or unclear: Her plans for the summer were still indefinite.^[14][2]
2. Having no fixed or exact limits, especially of time or number: The talks were postponed for an indefinite period.^[14][2]
3. (grammar) Not pointing out a particular person or thing, as the indefinite article a or the indefinite pronoun anyone.^[4][2]
4. (botany) Of stamens, too many to count; of an inflorescence, able to go on growing at the tip because the stem does not end in a flower.^[14][2]

Noun

1. Something indefinite, especially a word that is grammatically indefinite.^[4]

Word family

• indefinitely
• indefiniteness
• indefinite integral
• indefinite pronoun
• indefinite article

Related words

• indeterminate
• definite
• define
• finite
• infinite

References

1. ^ 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 r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
10. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
11. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
12. ^ 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.
13. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
14. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins