Etymograph

English

infinity

Infinity comes from Latin īnfīnitās ‘unlimitedness’, from fīnis ‘end’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- ‘to stick, set up’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeygʷ-1‘to stick, set up’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*fignis1uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīnis2‘end’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfīnitās2‘unlimitedness’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400infinité2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500infinite2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2012infinity2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin finis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English infinity
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2012, Michael Riordan, Tackling Infinity: “Richard Feynman, who shared the 1965 Nobel Prize with…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeygʷ-Wiktionary, Latin finis‘to stick, set up’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*fignisWiktionary, Latin finisuncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīnisWiktionary, English infinity‘end’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfīnitāsWiktionary, English infinity‘unlimitedness’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400infinitéWiktionary, English infinity
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500infiniteWiktionary, English infinity
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2012infinityWiktionary, English infinity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2012, Michael Riordan, Tackling Infinity: “Richard Feynman, who shared the 1965 Nobel Prize with…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- ‘to stick, set up’

fix, dig, ditch, dyke, dike, crucify, 22 more

through Latin *fignis

finale, finesse, confine, 13 more

through Latin fīnis ‘end’

final, fine, finish, definition, fin, finite, financier, fino, finis, finial, 18 more

Today it means

noun Endlessness, unlimitedness, absence of a beginning, end or limits to size.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “infinity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin finis. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- / infinity

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