English
infinite
Infinite comes from Latin īnfīnītus, and goes back to fīnis ‘end’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīnis‘end’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfīnītus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400infinit
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500infinite
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1589–1590same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīnis‘end’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfīnītus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400infinit
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500infinite
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1589–1590same form
Earliest quotation: c. 1589–1590, Christopher Marlowe, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […]: “infinite riches in a little room”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- ‘to stick, set up’
fix, dig, ditch, dyke, dike, crucify, 23 more
through Latin *fignis
finale, finesse, confine, 14 more
through Latin fīnis ‘end’
final, fine, finish, definition, fin, financier, fino, finis, finial, 19 more
Today it means
adj Indefinably large, countlessly great; immense.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin fīnis / infinite