finta Italian · revision 38240

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1585, Giovanni Maria Cecchi|origins=la fingō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈfin.ta/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''finta''' ''f'' (plural finte)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the feminine of [[finto]], the past participle of [[fingere|t=to pretend]], used as a noun.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) The verb continues [[la|fingō|t=to shape; to invent, feign]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) The same formation is [[fro|feinte]], recorded in the 13th century, and [[pro|fencha]]; as a term of fencing the French word is found from 1680.^(DEI|1648)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in the comedies of Giovanni Maria Cecchi, 1585, for the act of pretending.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) In one of them a character asks why the other put on that pretence with him (''Perché fec'egli quella finta meco?'').^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Torquato Tasso, before 1595, uses the word for a feigned move in battle, meant to mislead the enemy, the sense that passed into sport and above all fencing.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) DEI dates the military sense to the 17th century and the fencing sense to the 19th.^(DEI|1648) In tailoring ''finta'' has meant since 1798 a strip of cloth that hides the buttonholes of a coat.^(DELI 1999) The phrases ''fare finta'' “to pretend” and ''per finta'' “in jest” are among the commonest uses of the word.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ German borrowed the fencing sense as ''Finte'' in 1619, and soon also used it for a trick or pretext.^(DIFIT) The word was also borrowed into Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan as ''finta'', and into Dutch as ''fint''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1585 – Giovanni Maria Cecchi uses ''finta'' for a pretence.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1595 – Tasso uses it for a feint in battle.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+ * 1619 – German ''Finte'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1798 – The tailoring sense appears in D'Alberti's dictionary.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 19th century – The fencing sense is recorded.^(DEI|1648)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|pretence]], [[m|en|simulation]]: ''Il suo entusiasmo era solo una finta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(military)'' A feigned attack meant to draw the enemy away from the real target.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(sports)'' A [[m|en|feint]] or dummy, a movement begun but not completed to deceive an opponent: ''Ha superato il portiere con una finta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(tailoring)'' A strip of cloth covering the buttons or buttonholes of a garment; a [[m|en|fly]].^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fintare]]

+ * [[controfinta]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[finzione]]

+ * [[fingere]]

+ * [[finto]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Fare finta di'' + infinitive means to pretend to do something, ''fare finta di niente'' to act as if nothing had happened, and ''per finta'' in jest or as a game.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}