fineza

Forms

fineza f (plural finezas)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish fino + -eza.^[2][1][3] Corominas lists it among the derivatives of fino and dates it to the early 16th century, with a record in Guevara.^[4][5] The adjective comes from fin, from Latin finis (“boundary, limit”).^[6]

In 1887 Echegaray compared French finesse and Italian finezza.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The CDH's earliest hit is a document of 1409 in which finezas stands in a list of laws and grants, in a sense that the context does not make clear.^[8] The first clear records are about the quality of materials: Hernando de Talavera (1477–1496) writes of the pleasure of seeing la fineza del paño ó de la seda “the fineness of the cloth or the silk”, and the Castilian cloth ordinances of 1495 speak of the fineza of wool.^[8] DICCA-XV has a first record of 1499.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Autoridades gives first the sense “perfection, purity and goodness of a thing in its kind”, with Guevara's fine gold that proves the fineza of its carats in the coals, then “an act or word that shows love and goodwill”.^[9] Terreros adds the lover's particular care to please, and a small gift given as a token of affection.^[10]

Records from the Americas show both sides: the fineness of a stone in Mexico in 1575 and of 22-carat gold in Costa Rica in 1610, and the virtue and fineza of a person in Mexico City in 1604.^[11] The Academy marked “delicacy and refinement” as obsolete from 1843 to 1899, but the current dictionary lists it again without a label.^[12][13][2] Moliner treats fineza of things as a synonym of finura, and of people as a kind attention or a token of friendship.^[14]

Timeline

• 1409 – the CDH's earliest hit, in a document of uncertain sense.^[8]
• 1477–1496 – Hernando de Talavera writes of the fineza of cloth and silk.^[8]
• 1495 – Castilian cloth ordinances use it of the quality of wool.^[8]
• early 16th century – Corominas's first record, in Guevara.^[4][5]
• 1575 – first record in the Americas, from Mexico, of the fineness of a stone.^[11]
• 1726–1739 – Autoridades gives the senses “purity, perfection” and “token of love”.^[9]
• 1843 – the Academy marks “delicacy and refinement” as obsolete.^[12]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary first gives the etymology, from fino.^[15]

Meanings

Noun

1. fineness, purity: the quality and excellence of a thing of its kind: la fineza de este paño.^[2][14]
2. An act or word by which someone shows affection and goodwill towards another: Me dijo mil finezas.^[2][1]
3. Friendly effort and zeal on someone's behalf.^[2]
4. A small gift given as a token of affection.^[2][14]
5. delicacy, finesse, refinement.^[2][1][16]

Related words

• fino
• finura
• French finesse
• Italian finezza

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. fineza
3. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. fineza
4. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 901
5. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. fino
6. ^ a b Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv, p. s.v. fineza
7. ^ Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. 396
8. ^ a b c d e Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. fineza
9. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 3, 755
10. ^ Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 2, 165
11. ^ a b Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. fineza
12. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 344
13. ^ Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 461
14. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. fineza
15. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 498
16. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. fineza