Etymologically
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finito

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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