fine

fine¹ end; aim

Etymology tree of fine¹

inherited borrowed derived

Latin finis

French fin

Italian fine

Italian fino

Derived words · fine¹

Latin confinis ← finis

Latin finalis ← finis

Latin finio ← finis

French enfin ← fin

Italian finché ← fino

Pronunciation

• /ˈfi.ne/^[1]

Forms

fine f (plural fini); m in the sense “aim, purpose”^[1][2]

Etymology

The noun is inherited from Latin fīnis (“boundary, limit; end”).^[3][4][2][1] The same word is French fin, Occitan fi, Catalan fi, Spanish fin and Portuguese fim.^[4][5] Its derivatives came into Italian as learned words, except finire.^[3]

The origin of the Latin noun is uncertain.^[3][2] A common explanation, from Walde and Hofmann, derives it from ⟨*fig-snis⟩, a boundary marker driven into the ground, from fīgō (“to fix, drive in”); others connect it with findō (“to split”) or with a root meaning “to strike”.^[6][4][1] The ancients linked it with fūnis (“rope”), the cord that marked a field's limit.^[7] The noun was originally masculine and also became feminine, like other nouns in ⟨-is⟩.^[7] The sense “aim, purpose” follows Latin philosophical usage, where Cicero used the word to render Ancient Greek τέλος (télos).^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Placito di Capua of 960, one of the earliest documents of Italian, where fini are the boundaries of a piece of land.^[3][2][9]

Semantic evolution

The sense “death” is in Pier della Vigna before 1249, and “end point, moment of ending” in Guittone d'Arezzo before 1294: “la fine d'onne dizìo è pagamento” (the end of every desire is its fulfilment).^[3][7] The masculine il fine “purpose, intention” appears in Bono Giamboni before 1292;^[3][8] DEI traces it to the language of Thomist philosophy.^[3][8] An old Florentine fine was a settlement or receipt, from the 13th to the 15th century.^[10][2]

Finimondo (1360) is Church Latin finis mundi “end of the world”, and fine settimana a calque of English weekend.^[3][4] In music, fine marks where a piece ends after a repeat; with this sense it passed into French, English and German (1732).^[11]

Timeline

• 960 – The Placito di Capua uses fini for boundaries.^[3]
• Before 1249 – Pier della Vigna uses fine for death.^[3]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses il fine for a purpose.^[3]
• Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses la fine for the end of something.^[3]
• 1360 – Finimondo is first recorded.^[4]
• 1732 – German Fine is recorded as a musical term.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. (feminine) The end, the moment when something stops: alla fine della lezione, a fine mese.^[2][12][9]
2. (feminine) The last part or ending of something, such as a road, a book or a film.^[2][9][13]
3. (feminine, figurative) death; the collapse or ruin of a state, a dynasty or a hope.^[2][12][9]
4. (feminine) The outcome of something: fare una brutta fine is to come to a bad end, and che fine hai fatto?, where have you been all this time?^[2][13]
5. (masculine) An aim or purpose: Lo ha fatto a fin di bene.^[2][12][9]
6. (masculine, literary) A limit or boundary.^[2][9]

Word family

• finale
• finalità
• finalista
• finalizzare
• finire
• finimondo
• finitimo
• infine
• affinché
• alfine

fine² fine, thin

Etymology tree of fine²

inherited borrowed derived

Latin finis

French fin

Italian fine

Italian fino

Derived words · fine²

Latin confinis ← finis

Latin finalis ← finis

Latin finio ← finis

French enfin ← fin

Italian finché ← fino

Pronunciation

• /ˈfi.ne/^[1]

Forms

fine m or f by sense (plural fini)^[1]

Etymology

The adjective is inherited from Latin fīnis (“limit, end”), used adjectivally in the sense “extreme, of the highest degree”, and hence “pure; delicate”.^{[3][4][9][13]} The same development is found in French fin, Occitan fi, Spanish fino and Portuguese fino;^[4][5] French fin passed into German fein and English fine.^[4][5] GRADIT compares Old French fin, recorded about 1050.^[2] fino² is a popular variant moved into the commoner class of adjectives in ⟨-o⟩.^[9][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's earliest dates are before 1250: Giacomo da Lentini uses it of a precious metal without impurities, and Frederick II for “graceful, noble”.^[3] The TLIO's first record of the derived adverb finemente “excellently” is in Rinaldo d'Aquino, in the first half of the 13th century.^[14]

Semantic evolution

In the medieval lyric fine and fino were words of courtly praise, as in fino amore;^[3][2] DELI dates “keen, subtle” to Guittone d'Arezzo before 1294 and “very skilled” to Bono Giamboni before 1292.^[3][2] The physical sense “thin, of small diameter” is recorded only in the Florentine carnival songs, before 1559, and “cunning, shrewd” in the chivalric cantari of the 15th and 16th centuries.^[3] Finezza is first recorded for the purity of metals before 1419, for thinness in Alessandro Tassoni in 1628, and for courtesy before 1667.^[3] A Tuscan proverb contrasts country people's coarse shoes with their sharp minds: contadini e montanini, scarpe grosse e cervelli fini.^[13]

Timeline

• Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses fine of pure metal, and Frederick II for nobility of manner.^[3]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for consummate skill.^[3]
• Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses it for keen sensibility.^[3]
• Before 1559 – The Florentine carnival songs use it for thin paper.^[3][7]
• 1628 – Alessandro Tassoni uses finezza “thinness”.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. thin, of small thickness or diameter; slender; made of very small particles: Questa spiaggia ha una sabbia fine e chiara.^[2][12][9]
2. (figurative) Keen, acute, of the senses: un orecchio fine.^[2][12][9]
3. subtle, perceptive, showing intelligence: Ha un'ironia molto fine.^[2][12][9]
4. refined, elegant, well-mannered: Era un ristorante troppo fine per noi.^[2][9][13]
5. Of high quality, finely made: biancheria fine.^[2][9][13]
6. Of air, pure and light.^[2][13]

Word family

• finezza
• finemente
• affinare
• raffinare
• raffinato
• raffinatezza
• raffineria
• sopraffino