finis Latin · revision 2727

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|formation=inherited|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈfiː.nɪs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfiː.nis]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''fīnis''' ''m'' or f (genitive fīnis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+ It is masculine, but feminine in Accius, Lucretius, Virgil and sometimes in Cicero and Livy; the ablative is ''fīne'' or ''fīnī''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*fīni-]], a reconstruction de Vaan marks as uncertain, and its further origin is disputed.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Walde and Hofmann, followed by the OLD and Georges, reconstruct *fīg-s-ni- “driven in”, from [[figo|alt=fīgō]], as a word for a material boundary mark such as a stone or pole.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913) Another possibility is *bʰiH-ni- from [[ine-pro|*bʰeyH-|t=to strike]], especially in view of the glossed form [[m|la|perfinēs]] “you must strike”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Bammesberger connects it with [[gem-pro|*bainaz|t=straight]] and [[gem-pro|*bainą|t=bone, leg]], which may have meant a pole or upright boundary mark.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Lewis and Short and Wiktionary also mention *fid-nis from [[findo|alt=findō]] “to split”.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary) Döderlein's derivation from [[grc|φθίνω|tr=phthínō|t=to wane]] is not followed.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found from Plautus onwards,^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) who speaks of leading an army out of its territory (''de finibus'') and of a [[m|en|boundary]] stretched to its utmost.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Its first sense was the boundary of a territory or field and the object that marked it; the plural ''fīnēs'' meant the land within the boundaries, a territory.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) From there it was a [[m|en|limit]] in any respect (''sine fine'', without end), a limit in time, a dividing line between categories, the finishing post of a race, the goal of a journey, and the farthest point of an empire.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ It then meant the end or close of an action or period, the end of life, the outcome of an affair, its completion, the highest degree (the consulship as the ''finis honorum'') and, in philosophy, the [[m|en|purpose]] or final cause, the ''finis bonorum'' being the supreme good.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Quintilian also used it for a [[m|en|definition]].^(OLD 2012)

+

+ In medieval Latin it was a subdivision of the ''pagus'', the territory of a village or manor, a field in the three-course system, and, in a new sense, an agreement or settlement and the payment made under it, the source of the English legal [[m|en|fine]].^(Niermeyer 1976)^(DMLBS) Later juridical texts use it for an amount.^(Wiktionary) It survives as French ''fin'', Italian ''fine'', Spanish ''fin'' and Portuguese ''fim''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of territory and of limits.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 234–149 BC – Cato has the quasi-preposition ''fini'', “up to”.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of a limit in time and of neighbours disputing boundaries.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero defines the ''finis bonorum'', the supreme good.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it for a definition.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1148 – An English charter uses ''fines'' of the bounds of land.^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|boundary]], a frontier; an object marking a boundary.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(plural)'' The land within boundaries, a territory.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # The finishing post of a race; a target; the destination of a journey.^(OLD 2012)

+ # The farthest point, the extremity.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A [[m|en|limit]], a bound; a limiting condition.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A limit in time, a term.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A [[m|en|definition]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # An end, a close; the end of life, death.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # An outcome; the completion of an undertaking; the highest point.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(philosophy)'' The [[m|en|purpose]] or final cause, as in ''finis bonorum'', the supreme good.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A subdivision of the ''pagus''; the territory of a village or manor; a field in the three-course system.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' An agreement, a settlement; a payment made under it, a [[m|en|fine]].^(Niermeyer 1976)^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[affīnis]]

+ * [[cōnfīnis]]

+ * [[fīnālis]]

+ * [[fīniō]]

+ * [[fīnitimus]]

+ * [[quadrifīnium]]

+ * [[arcifinius]]

+ * [[trifīnium]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fīgō]]

+ * [[perfines]]

+ * [[en|final]]

+ * [[en|fine]]

+ * [[en|finish]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Döderlein distinguishes ''finis'', the boundary as a line, from [[terminus]], a stone marking a point, and [[limes|alt=līmes]], a ridge marking a line.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}