finaliter

Forms

fīnāliter (adverb)^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin fīnālis (“final”) + -iter.^[1][2][3] The DMLBS marks it as Late Latin.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Fulgentius, about AD 500.^[3] Georges and Gaffiot cite the pseudo-Cassiodoran treatise on friendship, where it means “to the end” or “finally”.^[1][2]

Semantic evolution

In Medieval Latin it was a common word for “finally, at last”,^[5][4] and also meant “definitively, for ever”.^[4][6] Du Cange notes that it occurs often but that Vossius condemned it.^[6] Köbler also gives the senses “completely” and “with regard to the goal”.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 500 AD – Fulgentius uses it.^[3]
• 1213 – A charter uses it of a share to be held for good.^[6]
• 1308 – The records of the Inquisition of Carcassonne use it for “finally”.^[6]
• 1417 – The York memorandum book uses it for “in the end”.^[4]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (Late Latin) To the end; finally.^[1][2]
2. (Medieval Latin) At last, in the end.^[5][4]
3. (Medieval Latin) Definitively, for ever.^[4][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
2. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e f Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre