finale Italian · revision 38928

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1268, Andrea da Grosseto|origins=la fīnis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /fiˈna.le/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''finale''' ''m or f'' by sense (plural finali)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-lat|fīnālis|t=final; of boundaries]], from [[la|fīnis|t=end; boundary, limit]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) It is a learned word: in Latin the adjective first belonged to the land surveyors and meant “concerning boundaries”, and it is used for “concerning the end” from Macrobius on.^(DEI|1646)^(GDLI) GDLI adds that it spread chiefly through medieval philosophy, where [[m|la|fīnis]] stood for the ultimate goal, rendering [[grc|τέλειος|tr=téleios]].^(GDLI) The same word is [[fr|final]], recorded from the 12th century.^(GDLI)^(DEI|1646)

+

+ The origin of the Latin noun is disputed: it may come from the root of [[m|la|fīgō|t=to fix]] or from that of [[m|la|findō|t=to split]].^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012) The nouns grew out of the adjective.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in Andrea da Grosseto (1268, Tuscan), in the sense “coming last in time or space, marking the completion of something”.^(TLIO) DELI's first is in Guittone d'Arezzo (before 1294), and the sense “concerning the aim one pursues” is in Dante (1304–1308).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already had the ''dì finale'' and the ''giudizio finale'', the end of the world and the Last Judgement of Christian doctrine, and in philosophy the ''causa finale'', the end towards which a thing tends.^(TLIO)^(DEI|1646) Other old senses were “irrevocable” and “gravest, irreparable”, of a loss or misfortune.^(TLIO)

+

+ The masculine noun, the last part of something, is recorded before 1729 in Anton Maria Salvini.^(DELI 1999) In music it named the closing part of a piece from 1596, and, from 1785 the ensemble that ends an act of an opera;^(DIFIT) in this sense it was borrowed into German (1619), English (finale, 1724) and French (1721).^(DIFIT) The feminine ''finale'', the deciding match after the eliminating rounds, appears in 1910 in ''Il Gazzettino'',^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) with ''quarti di finale'' and ''semifinale'' for the earlier rounds.^(GDLI)

+

+ ''Soluzione finale'' is the name of the Nazi plan to exterminate the Jews.^(Treccani 2011)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1268 – Andrea da Grosseto uses ''finale'' for “last, concluding”.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses the adjective.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for “concerning the aim”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1596 – The musical sense “closing part” is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * Before 1729 – Salvini uses the masculine noun for “ending”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1785 – The operatic ''finale'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1910 – ''La finale'' of a competition appears in ''Il Gazzettino''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1970 – The fishing sense, the end of the line that holds the hook, enters the Zingarelli dictionary.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|final]], last, coming at the end: ''il capitolo finale'', ''il risultato finale''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Conclusive, decisive: ''il colpo finale''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Concerning an aim or purpose, ''(grammar)'' ''proposizione finale'', a [[m|en|purpose clause]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(masculine)'' The [[m|en|ending]], last part of a book, film, show or event: ''Il romanzo ha un finale che nessuno si aspetta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(masculine, music)'' A [[m|en|finale]], the closing section of a work or of an act of an opera.^(GDLI)^(Wiktionary)^(DIFIT)

+ # ''(masculine, sport)'' The closing stage of a race; the ability to win it with a final burst.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(masculine, chess)'' The [[m|en|endgame]].^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(feminine, sport)'' The final, the deciding match or round of a competition: ''La squadra è arrivata in finale.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GDLI)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[finalista]]

+ * [[finalissima]]

+ * [[semifinale]]

+ * [[finalità]]

+ * [[finalizzare]]

+ * [[finalmente]]

+ * [[finalismo]]

+ * [[finalino]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fine]]

+ * [[finire]]

+ * [[la|finis]]

+ * [[en|finale]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The gender tells the nouns apart: ''il finale'' is the ending of a work or show, ''la finale'' the deciding match.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GDLI) DEI also records a regional adjective ''finale'' “of the boundary”, from Emilia, from the Latin surveyors' word; it survives in the place name Finale.^(DEI|1646)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}