fine

fine
\ \ [12] Both the adjective and the noun fine have come a very long way since their beginnings in Latin finisend’. The etymological sense of the adjective is ‘finished’ – hence, ‘of high quality’. It comes via Old French fin from Vulgar Latin *fīnus, an adjective formed from the Latin verb fīnīrelimit, complete’ (source of English finish). (A derivative of *finus was the noun *finitia, from which ultimately English gets finesse [15].) The noun fine also comes from an Old French fin, this time a noun descended directly from Latin fīnis. In medieval times this was used for ‘money to be paid at the completion of legal proceedings’ – hence the present-day sense ‘payment imposed as a punishment’. From the same ultimate source, but reflecting different aspects of it, come confine [16] and define [14] (‘limitation’) and refine [16] (‘high quality’).
\ \ Cf.CONFINE, DEFINE, FINAL, FINANCE, FINESSE, FINISH, REFINE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • fine — [ fin ] n. f. • XIXe; de 2. fin ♦ Eau de vie de raisin de qualité supérieure. ⇒ cognac. Fine champagne (la Champagne désignant une région autour de Cognac). Une bouteille de fine. Verre de fine. Garçon, une fine ! Une fine à l eau. ⊗ HOM. Fines,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • fine — (f[imac]n), a. [Compar. {finer} (f[imac]n [ e]r); superl. {finest}.] [F. fin, LL. finus fine, pure, fr. L. finire to finish; cf. finitus, p. p., finished, completed (hence the sense accomplished, perfect.) See {Finish}, and cf. {Finite}.] 1.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fine — may be: * An adjective meaning attractive, sexy, physically attractive, beautiful etc.Legal* Fine (penalty), financial punishment * Fine of lands, an obsolete type of land conveyance * Fine on alienation, money paid to the lord by a tenant when… …   Wikipedia

  • Fine — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Anne Fine, britische Schriftstellerin Charles H. Fine, Professor und Buchautor David Fine (Musikmanager) (1929–2005), südafrikanischer Musikmanager David Fine (Schauspieler) (* 1955), US amerikanischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • fine — FÍNE s.n. (livr.) Sfârşit. ♢ loc. adv. În fine = a) în sfârşit; b) în concluzie. – Din it. fine, fr. fin, enfin. Trimis de LauraGellner, 11.05.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  FÍNE s. 1. v. capăt. 2 …   Dicționar Român

  • fine — Ⅰ. fine [1] ► ADJECTIVE 1) of very high quality. 2) satisfactory. 3) in good health and feeling well. 4) (of the weather) bright and clear. 5) (of a thread, filament, or hair) thin. 6) of delicate or intricate w …   English terms dictionary

  • fine — fine1 [fīn] adj. finer, finest [ME fin < OFr < ML finus, for L finis, an end, limit: see FINISH] 1. Obs. finished; perfected 2. superior in quality; better than average; excellent; very good [a fine sample] 3. of exceptional character or… …   English World dictionary

  • fine — 1 n [Anglo French fin fine & Medieval Latin finis end, boundary, agreement, payment for release or privilege, monetary penalty, from Latin finis end, boundary] 1: a sum imposed as punishment for an offense compare restitution 2: a forfeiture or… …   Law dictionary

  • fine (1) — {{hw}}{{fine (1)}{{/hw}}A s. f. 1 Punto, momento terminale: eccoci alla fine del cammino; la fine del mondo | Essere in fin di vita, in punto di morte | Dare, porre fine a qlco., terminarla | Alla –f, finalmente | Alla fine dei conti, (fig.)… …   Enciclopedia di italiano

  • FINE — was created in 1998 and is an informal association of the four main Fair Trade networks: *F Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) *I International Fair Trade Association (IFAT) *N Network of European Worldshops (NEWS!) and *E… …   Wikipedia

  • fine — [adj1] excellent, masterly accomplished, aces*, admirable, attractive, beautiful, capital, choice, cool*, crack*, dandy*, elegant, enjoyable, exceptional, expensive, exquisite, fashionable, first class, first rate, first string, five star*, gilt… …   New thesaurus

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