Etymograph

English

infinite

Infinite comes from Latin īnfīnītus, and goes back to fīnis ‘end’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīnis1‘end’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfīnītus1
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400infinit1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500infinite1
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1589–1590infinite1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English infinite
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1589–1590, Christopher Marlowe, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […]: “infinite riches in a little room”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīnisWiktionary, English infinite‘end’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfīnītusWiktionary, English infinite
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400infinitWiktionary, English infinite
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500infiniteWiktionary, English infinite
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1589–1590infiniteWiktionary, English infinite. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1589–1590, Christopher Marlowe, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […]: “infinite riches in a little room”

Equivalent to in- + finite

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’

Proto-Germanic *in ‘into’

English in-

Latin fīnis ‘boundary’

Latin fīniō ‘to finish’

Latin fīnītus ‘finished, terminated, having been finished or…’

Middle English fynyte

English finite

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.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “infinite”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin fīnis / infinite

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