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finito

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word finito

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
before 1292, Bono Giamboni
Ultimate origin
Latin fīnis

Pronunciation

Forms

finito (feminine finita, masculine plural finiti, feminine plural finite)[1]

Etymology

It is the past participle of finire (“to finish”), used as an adjective.[2][3][4][5][6] In the senses “limited, not infinite” of philosophy and mathematics, and in grammar, the DEI treats it as a learned word, taken from Latin fīnītus (“bounded, definite”).[7][1] Latin grammarians used this participle of fīniō (“to limit; to finish”) as a technical term from Varro on.[7][8] The verb is formed on fīnis (“boundary, end”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Bono Giamboni's Vizi e Virtudi, before 1292, in the sense “brought to an end, concluded”: battaglie sanza novero finite (“battles without number brought to an end”).[9][2][10]

Semantic evolution

DELI dates “complete and perfect in every detail” to Domenico Cavalca (before 1342), the mathematical sense “not infinite” to a translation of Augustine at the end of the 14th century, and the grammatical sense of a mood marked for person and number to Benedetto Menzini (before 1704).[2] “Worn out, at the end of one's strength” is in Sabadino degli Arienti in 1483.[2] In Old Italian ben finito was also a person who had died in the grace of God, and the noun il finito named what is bounded and mortal, as against God.[9]

In commerce finito meant a settled debt or a paid sum from the 14th century, and the term passed into French (1690) and German (1835).[11] Modern usage adds prodotto finito “finished product” and the colloquial farla finita “to put an end to it”, also “to kill oneself”.[4][12][13]

Timeline

  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses finito “concluded”.[9][2]
  • Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses it for “complete, perfect”.[2]
  • 14th century – It is used in commerce for a settled debt.[11]
  • Late 14th century – The mathematical sense “not infinite” appears.[2]
  • 1483 – Sabadino degli Arienti uses it for “exhausted”.[2]
  • Before 1704 – Benedetto Menzini uses it as a grammatical term.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. finished, over, concluded: a cena finita uscimmo in giardino.[14][4][5]
  2. Complete, carefully made in every part: un lavoro finito con cura, prodotto finito, a finished product.[14][4][12]
  3. Of a craftsman or artist, accomplished, expert.[14][4][5]
  4. Of a person, ruined, done for: dopo lo scandalo era un uomo finito.[14][5][13]
  5. (philosophy, mathematics) finite, limited, not infinite: un insieme finito.[14][4][5]
  6. (grammar) Of a verb mood, marked for person and number.[5][13]

Noun

  1. (philosophy) il finito: what is limited, as against the infinite.[14][5][12]

Word family

  • finitezza
  • finitamente
  • semifinito

Usage notes

Farla finita means “to stop, put an end to something” and also “to take one's own life”;[13][12][15] è finita means “there is nothing more to be done”.[13][12][15] Finito di stampare is the printer's colophon at the end of a book.[13][15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
  7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
  8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5, 1048
  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. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  13. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  14. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  15. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
Cite this entry

“Finito.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/finito. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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