finire Italian · revision 37705

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 12th century, Ritmo laurenziano|origins=la fīnis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /fiˈni.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''finire''' (first-person singular present finìsco, first-person singular past historic finìi, past participle finìto, auxiliary avére or èssere)^(Wiktionary)

+ The old form [[roa-oit|fenire]] is also found.^(TLIO)^(GDLI|5, 1042)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|fīniō|t=to bound, limit; to finish]], from [[m|la|fīnis|t=boundary, limit, end]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) GDLI calls it a learned word.^(GDLI|5, 1042) It is found in French, Occitan, Catalan, Spanish and Portuguese ([[fr|finir]], [[oc|finir]], [[ca|finir]], [[es|finir]], [[pt|finir]]), but not in Romanian.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|1647)^(REW 1935) A Vulgar Latin form with dissimilated vowels, [[la-vul|*feniō|alt=*fenīre]], survives in northern Italy, Lucca and Naples, and in [[fro|fenir]], [[pro|fenir]] and [[m|es|fenecer]].^(DEI|1647)^(REW 1935) Southern Italian ⟨fernire⟩ is a blend with [[fornire]].^(DEI|1647)

+

+ The origin of the Latin noun is disputed.^(de Vaan 2008) Walde and Hofmann reconstruct a form meaning “driven in”, for a boundary stone or pole, from the family of [[m|la|fīgō|t=to fix]];^(de Vaan 2008)^(DEI|1647) DEI too takes the starting point to be “boundary post”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(DEI|1647) De Vaan also considers a root [[ine-pro|*bʰiH-|t=to strike]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in the ''Ritmo laurenziano'' at the end of the 12th century, in the sense “to carry out an action completely”.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO) Bono Giamboni, before 1292, uses it for “to bring to an end” and, intransitively, “to come to an end”: “Spesse volte spera l'avversario che la battaglia si possa avaccio finire” (often the enemy hopes the battle can be ended quickly).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|5, 1042)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “to end up, land somewhere” is recorded at the end of the 13th century in the ''Romanzo di Tristano''.^(DELI 1999) Niccolò del Rosso uses ''finire'' “to kill” before 1348, a 15th-century translation of Aesop has “to satisfy fully”, and Benvenuto Cellini (before 1571) “to use up”.^(DELI 1999) The infinitive used as a noun, ''il finire'' “the end”, is in Bartolomeo da San Concordio before 1347, also in the sense “death”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) The sense “to turn out, become” dates from Luigi Lanzi, before 1810.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Many phrases describe how things end: ''finire in commedia'' “to end in farce”, ''finire a tarallucci e vino'' “to end with everyone friends again”, ''finire al tappeto'' “to be knocked down”.^(GRADIT 2003) The form ''finirla'' means “to stop it”.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) From Italian, French took ''finiment'' “finish” in 1676.^(DEI|1647)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – The ''Ritmo laurenziano'' has ''finire''.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for “to bring to an end” and “to come to an end”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Late 13th century – The ''Romanzo di Tristano'' uses ''finire'' “to end up”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1347 – Bartolomeo da San Concordio uses ''il finire'' “the end”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1348 – Niccolò del Rosso uses ''finire'' “to kill”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1571 – Benvenuto Cellini uses ''finire'' “to use up”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1810 – Luigi Lanzi uses ''finire'' “to turn out”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(transitive)'' To [[m|en|finish]], bring to an end: ''Devo finire la relazione entro venerdì.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(transitive, with di and an infinitive)'' To stop doing something: ''Finisci di lamentarti!''; also ''finirla'', to stop it.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To use up, [[m|en|exhaust]]: ''Hanno già finito tutte le scorte d'acqua.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To kill, finish off, especially someone already wounded.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(intransitive, auxiliary essere)'' To come to an end: ''Le lezioni finiscono a giugno.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To [[m|en|end up]] somewhere or in some state: ''La palla è finita nel fiume.''; with ''per'' and an infinitive, to end up doing something.^(Wiktionary)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''il finire'', the end, the close: ''sul finire dell'estate''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[finito]]

+ * [[finimento]]

+ * [[finitura]]

+ * [[finitore]]

+ * [[rifinire]]

+ * [[sfinire]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fine]]

+ * [[definire]]

+ * [[infinito]]

+ * [[la|fīnis]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Finire'' is conjugated with ''-isc-'' in the present (''finisco'', ''finisci'').^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) It takes ''avere'' when transitive and ''essere'' when it means “to come to an end”; with an impersonal verb both are used (''ha'' or ''è finito di grandinare'').^(Wiktionary)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}