English
finesse
Finesse comes from Middle English finesse ‘a degree of excellence’, from Middle French fin ‘fine, thin’, and ultimately from Latin fīnis ‘an end’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīnis‘an end’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fin
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘fine, thin’
- Middle French, derivedc. 1400–1600finesse
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a degree of excellence’
- Englishearliest quotation 1791same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīnis‘an end’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fin
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘fine, thin’
- Middle French, derivedc. 1400–1600finesse
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a degree of excellence’
- Englishearliest quotation 1791same form
Earliest quotation: 1791, John Long, London: Printed for the author; and sold by Robson: “An Indian known by the name of Silver Heels,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- ‘to stick, set up’
fix, dig, ditch, dyke, dike, crucify, 20 more
through Latin *fignis
finale, infinitesimal, 11 more
through Latin fīnis ‘an end’
final, finish, definition, infinite, infinity, finite, financier, confine, infinitive, fino, finis, affine, finial, 14 more
through Middle French fin ‘fine, thin’
Today it means
noun A skill in the handling or manipulation of a situation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin fīnis / finesse