Fineliche

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Archaically, in a delicate, skillful, or refined manner ; at the last, in the end, or ultimately
2. An obsolete adverb meaning with refinement and subtlety ; finally, at length, or eventually, as in Middle English usage
3. An old-fashioned term for doing something skillfully and daintily ; and also for at last or in conclusion

Etymology: Middle English "fineliche" meant "finally" or "at the end," and it came from the Old French "fin," meaning "end," plus the adverbial ending "-liche," the Middle English counterpart of "-ly." The English word "fine" in the sense of "excellent" is a different route: it came via Old French from Latin "finis," but its path to "excellent" developed separately, so the two senses share a root while having run on different tracks in English. The adverb "fineliche" was a stock word in medieval writing for bringing an account to a close, and its modern descendant "finally" kept the sense of ending while "fine" went on to mean something quite different.

Synonyms: finely