final

Forms

final (feminine finale, finales)^[1]

• finel, finail, fynal^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin fīnālis (“at the end”),^[4][5][6][1] formed on fīnis (“end; boundary”) with the suffix -ālis.^[7][1] In Latin it first meant “of boundaries”,^[7] and the sense “final” appears in post-classical authors.^[8] The FEW places it in its article on fīnis.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Étienne de Fougères's Livre des manières, of 1174–1178 by the TLFi, in the sense “which ends, which is at the end”.^[4][2][10]

Semantic evolution

Old French used it for what is last and definitive (a final judgement or counsel, a peace made for good), and also for what lasts for ever.^[2][11][3] The sense “which tends to an end or purpose” appears in 1365, in Oresme,^[4] and Bloch and Wartburg ascribe this philosophical use to Latin.^[5] The adverb finalment, “finally”, is common.^[2] The modern word is French final.^[4]

Timeline

• 1174–1178 – in Étienne de Fougères's Livre des manières.^[4][10]
• 1260 – first Anglo-Norman record cited by the AND.^[3]
• 1293 – finaus in a peace between the archbishop and the commune of Besançon.^[11]
• 1365 – “tending to an end”, in Oresme.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. final, last, at the end.^[2][3][1]
2. definitive, settled for good.^[2][3]
3. perpetual, lasting.^[3][12]
4. complete, utter.^[3]

Anglo-Norman

The AND first cites the word from 1260 and records the spellings finel, finail, finial and fynal; insular French used it for what is final and definitive, for what is perpetual, and for complete or utter states.^[3] Etymonline derives the English word final, from the early 14th century, from the Old French word and directly from Late Latin.^[13]

Descendants

• English final^[1]
• French final^[1]

Usage notes

Tobler–Lommatzsch, Godefroy, the DMF and the AND head the word final.^{[2][11][14][3]} Godefroy's final 2 is a spelling of another word, fenal.^[15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Tobler, Adolf; Lommatzsch, Erhard (1925–2002), Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, 11 vols., Berlin / Wiesbaden / Stuttgart: Weidmann / Steiner, p. 3:1872
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–), p. s.v. final
4. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France, p. 303
6. ^ Gamillscheg, Ernst (1966–1969), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der französischen Sprache, 2nd, fully revised ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 456
7. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. finalis
8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. finalis
9. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3:567
10. ^ a b Stein, Achim; Kunstmann, Pierre; Gleßgen, Martin-D., eds., Nouveau Corpus d'Amsterdam, version 4 (lemmatised corpus of Old French texts, after A. Dees), Universität Stuttgart, github.com/michaniets/NCA (texts by DEAF siglum), p. EstFougL
11. ^ a b c Godefroy, Frédéric (1881–1902), Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle, 10 vols., Paris: Vieweg / Bouillon, p. 9:621
12. ^ Godefroy, Frédéric (1901), Lexique de l'ancien français, ed. J. Bonnard and A. Salmon, Paris / Leipzig: Welter, p. 1:232
13. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
14. ^ Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf, p. s.v. final
15. ^ Godefroy, Frédéric (1881–1902), Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle, 10 vols., Paris: Vieweg / Bouillon, p. 4:8