finite

English

Etymology

The adjective is derived from Middle English fynyte, finit, from Latin fīnītus, perfect passive participle of fīniō (“I finish; I terminate”), from fīnis (“boundary”). The word displaced Old English ġeendodlīċ.

The noun is derived from the adjective.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈfaɪ.naɪt/

  • Audio (California):

    (file)

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈfaɪ.nʌɪt/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈfɑɪ.nɑɪt/
• Rhymes: -aɪt
• Hyphenation: fi‧nite

Adjective

finite (comparative more finite, superlative most finite)

1. Having an end or limit; (of a quantity) constrained by bounds; (of a set) whose number of elements is a natural number.

   Synonym: limited

2. (grammar, as opposed to infinite or nonfinite) Limited by (i.e. inflected for) person or number. [from 19th c.]

   The "goes" in "he goes" is a finite form of a verb, the third-person singular.

3. (ring theory, of a module (or algebra) over a ring) finitely generated (as a module).

Antonyms

• infinite, nonfinite, infinitival
• unlimited
• endless
• eternal
• everlasting

Derived terms

• finite automaton
• finite capacity planning
• finite continued fraction
• finite deterrence
• finite difference
• finite-dimensional
• finite element
• finite field
• finite generator
• finite geometry
• finitely
• finitely generated
• finiteness
• finite set
• finite-state automaton
• finite-state machine
• finite state machine
• locally finite
• non-finite
• nonfinite
• non-finite verb
• unfinite
• σ-finite measure

 

Related terms

• finis
• finitude
• finity

 

terms derived from finite (adjective)

• finitely
• finiteness
• finite verb
• infinite
• infiniteness
• infinitude
• transfinite

 

Translations

having an end or limit

• Bulgarian: кра́ен (bg) (kráen), ограни́чен (bg) (ograníčen)
• Catalan: finit (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 有限的 (zh) (yǒuxiàn de)

• Czech: konečný (cs) m
• Danish: endelig
• Dutch: eindig (nl)
• Estonian: lõplik (et)
• Finnish: äärellinen (fi), päättyvä (fi), rajallinen (fi)
• French: fini (fr)
• Georgian: სასრული (sasruli)
• German: endlich (de)
• Greek: πεπερασμένος (el) m (peperasménos)
• Hungarian: véges (hu)
• Italian: finito (it)
• Japanese: 限られた (kagirareta), 有限な (ja) (yūgen na), 有限の (ja) (yūgen no)
• Latin: fīnītus (la)
• Maori: tāparepare, whatungarongaro (refers to resources)
• Norwegian: endelig (no), avsluttet
• Old English: ġeendodlīċ
• Polish: skończony (pl) m, ograniczony (pl) m
• Portuguese: finito (pt)
• Romanian: finit (ro), limitat (ro), care are limită
• Russian: коне́чный (ru) (konéčnyj), ограни́ченный (ru) (ograníčennyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ко̀начан, огра̀ничен

  Roman: kònačan (sh), ogràničen (sh)

• Spanish: limitado (es), finito (es)
• Swedish: ändlig (sv), begränsad (sv), förgänglig (sv)
• Tagalog: hangganin
• Turkish: sınırlı (tr)
• Ukrainian: скінче́нний (skinčénnyj), обме́жений (obméženyj)

grammar: limited by person or number

• Catalan: finit (ca), personal (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 限定的

• Finnish: finiittinen (fi)
• French: fini (fr)
• Polish: określony (pl)
• Spanish: personal (es)
• Swedish: finit (sv)
• Tagalog: hangganin

Noun

finite (plural finites)

1. A thing which has an end or limit.
   • 1733, I[saac] W[atts], “A Brief Scheme of Ontology: Or The Science of Being in General; […]. Chap[ter] XIII. Of Agreement and Difference, of Sameness, and the Doctrine of Opposites.”, in Philosophical Essays on Various Subjects, […], London: […] Richard Ford […], and Richard Hett […], →OCLC, pages 384–385:

     Diſagreement in Subſtance or Eſſence […] may be called Diſproportion, as, there is a Diſproportion betvveen Finites and Infinites, i.e. there is no Proportion betvveen them.

Translations

thing which has an end or limit

• French: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

Esperanto

Adverb

finite

1. past adverbial passive participle of fini

German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

finite

1. inflection of finit:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Ido

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fiˈnite/

Verb

finite

1. adverbial past passive participle of finar

Interlingua

Participle

finite

1. past participle of finir

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fiˈni.te/
• Rhymes: -ite
• Hyphenation: fi‧nì‧te

Etymology 1

Adjective

finite

1. feminine plural of finito

Participle

finite f pl

1. feminine plural of finito

Etymology 2

Verb

finite

1. inflection of finire:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /fiːˈniː.teː/, [fiːˈniːt̪eː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /fiˈni.te/, [fiˈniːt̪e]

Adverb

fīnītē (not comparable)

1. To a certain extent, within limits; limited.

   Antonym: īnfīnītē

2. Definitely, specifically.

Related terms

• fīnālis
• fīniēns
• fīniō
• fīnis
• fīnitimus
• fīnītiō
• fīnītīvus
• fīnītor
• fīnītus

 

References

• “finite”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

Spanish

Verb

finite

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of finir combined with te