Etymologically
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finalmente

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 20:02. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /fi.nalˈmen.te/[1]

Forms

finalmente[1] The old form finalemente is obsolete.[2][3] Old forms include Old Italian finalmenti and Old Italian finalimente.[4]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian finale + -mente, the adverb of finale “last, final”.[5][1][6][4] The adjective comes from Late Latin fīnālis, from Latin fīnis (“end, boundary”).[7][8] Tommaseo compares the adverb Late Latin fīnāliter.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a document from Macerata of 1287;[4][5][2] GRADIT dates the word to the first half of the 13th century and Zingarelli to before 1294.[4][5][2] Guittone d'Arezzo wrote that if any good appears, it “torna a gran mal finalmente” (turns to great evil in the end).[9]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the adverb meant “at the end of a series of events”, “at the end of earthly life” and “until the end”, but also “completely, once and for all”, “after all”, “even”, and “on purpose, intentionally”.[4] The sense “completely” survives in literary use, and Zingarelli marks “on purpose” as obsolete.[2]

The use that stresses relief at something long awaited is already found in Old Italian, and it is now the commonest: finalmente! alone means “at last!”.[4][5][10] German borrowed the word, rarely, in 1663.[11]

Timeline

  • First half of the 13th century – GRADIT's date of first record.[5]
  • 1287 – A document from Macerata uses the word.[4]
  • Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses finalmente.[9][2]
  • 1663 – German finalmente is recorded once.[11]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. at last, in the end, after a long time: Dopo tre ore di coda, finalmente è toccato a noi.[5][10][2][1]
  2. (exclamative) Expressing satisfaction at something long hoped for: Finalmente sei tornato!, Finalmente![5][10][1]
  3. finally, lastly; in short.[5][12][1]
  4. (literary) Completely, once and for all.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  7. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  8. ^ Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  9. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5, 1020
  10. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  11. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli