fine Italian · revision 37676

+ {{homograph|1|end; aim}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=960, Placito di Capua|origins=la fīnis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈfi.ne/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''fine''' ''f'' (plural fini); ''m'' in the sense “aim, purpose”^(Wiktionary)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The noun is [[inh|la|fīnis|t=boundary, limit; end]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[fr|fin]], [[oc|fi]], [[ca|fi]], [[es|fin]] and [[pt|fim]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Its derivatives came into Italian as learned words, except [[finire]].^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The origin of the Latin noun is uncertain.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) A common explanation, from Walde and Hofmann, derives it from ⟨*fig-snis⟩, a boundary marker driven into the ground, from [[m|la|fīgō|t=to fix, drive in]]; others connect it with [[m|la|findō|t=to split]] or with a root meaning “to strike”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) The ancients linked it with [[m|la|fūnis|t=rope]], the cord that marked a field's limit.^(GDLI) The noun was originally masculine and also became feminine, like other nouns in ⟨-is⟩.^(GDLI) The sense “aim, purpose” follows Latin philosophical usage, where Cicero used the word to render [[grc|τέλος|tr=télos]].^(DEI|1647)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==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.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==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).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) The masculine ''il fine'' “purpose, intention” appears in Bono Giamboni before 1292;^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|1647) DEI traces it to the language of Thomist philosophy.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|1647) An old Florentine ''fine'' was a settlement or receipt, from the 13th to the 15th century.^(DEI|1646)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ''Finimondo'' (1360) is Church Latin ''finis mundi'' “end of the world”, and ''fine settimana'' a calque of English ''weekend''.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) In music, ''fine'' marks where a piece ends after a repeat; with this sense it passed into French, English and German (1732).^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 960 – The Placito di Capua uses ''fini'' for boundaries.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1249 – Pier della Vigna uses ''fine'' for death.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''il fine'' for a purpose.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses ''la fine'' for the end of something.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1360 – ''Finimondo'' is first recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1732 – German ''Fine'' is recorded as a musical term.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(feminine)'' The [[m|en|end]], the moment when something stops: ''alla fine della lezione'', ''a fine mese''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(feminine)'' The last part or ending of something, such as a road, a book or a film.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(feminine, figurative)'' [[m|en|death]]; the collapse or ruin of a state, a dynasty or a hope.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(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?^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(masculine)'' An [[m|en|aim]] or purpose: ''Lo ha fatto a fin di bene.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(masculine, literary)'' A limit or [[m|en|boundary]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[finale]]

+ * [[finalità]]

+ * [[finalista]]

+ * [[finalizzare]]

+ * [[finire]]

+ * [[finimondo]]

+ * [[finitimo]]

+ * [[infine]]

+ * [[affinché]]

+ * [[alfine]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|fine, thin}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=before 1250, Giacomo da Lentini|origins=la fīnis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈfi.ne/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''fine''' ''m or f'' by sense (plural fini)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective is [[inh|la|fīnis|t=limit, end]], used adjectivally in the sense “extreme, of the highest degree”, and hence “pure; delicate”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The same development is found in [[fr|fin]], [[oc|fi]], [[es|fino]] and [[pt|fino]];^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) French [[m|fr|fin]] passed into [[de|fein]] and [[en|fine]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) GRADIT compares [[fro|fin]], recorded about 1050.^(GRADIT 2003) [[fino#2]] is a popular variant moved into the commoner class of adjectives in ⟨-o⟩.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==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”.^(DELI 1999) The TLIO's first record of the derived adverb ''finemente'' “excellently” is in Rinaldo d'Aquino, in the first half of the 13th century.^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the medieval lyric ''fine'' and ''fino'' were words of courtly praise, as in ''fino amore'';^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) DELI dates “keen, subtle” to Guittone d'Arezzo before 1294 and “very skilled” to Bono Giamboni before 1292.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) 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.^(DELI 1999) ''Finezza'' is first recorded for the purity of metals before 1419, for thinness in Alessandro Tassoni in 1628, and for courtesy before 1667.^(DELI 1999) A Tuscan proverb contrasts country people's coarse shoes with their sharp minds: ''contadini e montanini, scarpe grosse e cervelli fini''.^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses ''fine'' of pure metal, and Frederick II for nobility of manner.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for consummate skill.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses it for keen sensibility.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1559 – The Florentine carnival songs use it for thin paper.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+ * 1628 – Alessandro Tassoni uses ''finezza'' “thinness”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|thin]], of small thickness or diameter; slender; made of very small particles: ''Questa spiaggia ha una sabbia fine e chiara.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Keen, acute, of the senses: ''un orecchio fine''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # [[m|en|subtle]], perceptive, showing intelligence: ''Ha un'ironia molto fine.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # [[m|en|refined]], elegant, well-mannered: ''Era un ristorante troppo fine per noi.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Of high quality, finely made: ''biancheria fine''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Of air, pure and light.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[finezza]]

+ * [[finemente]]

+ * [[affinare]]

+ * [[raffinare]]

+ * [[raffinato]]

+ * [[raffinatezza]]

+ * [[raffineria]]

+ * [[sopraffino]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[confine]]

+ * [[definire]]

+ * [[la|fīnis]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In the sense “end” the noun is feminine (''la fine''), in the sense “aim” masculine (''il fine''); the masculine is also kept in a few set phrases for the end, such as ''il lieto fine'' “the happy ending” and ''a buon fine''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) ''Fine'' is used without a preposition before periods of time (''fine settimana'', ''fine Ottocento'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}