Finire

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To bring something to a conclusion or to complete an action fully; to reach a definitive end or limit in a process or event; to finalize or close off an activity or matter completely
2. To conclude or finish a task or event entirely; to reach the ultimate point where an activity or condition ends; to put an end to something with finality or completeness
3. To terminate or complete a sequence of actions fully; to arrive at the cessation or boundary of a process or endeavor; to decisively wrap up or conclude any undertaking or operation

Etymology: "Finire" is the Italian verb meaning "to finish" or "to end," and its ancestry runs through Latin to a word that once meant "boundary." The Latin "finire" meant "to limit, bound, or put an end to," and was built from "finis," meaning "end," "border," or "territorial limit." That sense of a edge or boundary is the original image: to finish something was to mark where it stopped. Latin "finis" is also the source of English "finish," "final," and "infinite," the last of which is "not bounded." The English words came through Old French, while the Italian verb developed straight from the Latin, so the two languages preserve the same root in different forms. Italian "fine," meaning "end," is the noun that stands behind the verb.

Synonyms: finish, end, complete, terminate

Antonyms: begin, start, commence, initiate