English
finagle
Finagle may come from English fainaigue ‘to renege’.
- English1500–presentfainaigue‘to renege’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 2007finagle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- English1500–presentfainaigue‘to renege’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 2007finagle
Earliest quotation: 2007, Ashley Ezell, Harvest of Hearts: “She finagled her way around so that her arms…”
Formed from -le ‘frequentative’
The story
Americanism from the 1920s, perhaps combining an alteration of fainaigue (‘to renege’) with the suffix + -le (‘frequentative’), possibly influenced by inveigle; compare haggle.
Every English word from English fainaigue
Today it means
verb To obtain, arrange, or achieve by indirect, complicated and/or intensive efforts.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / English fainaigue / finagle