I. ˈfīn ə l adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French final, finel, from Latin finalis, from finis boundary, limit, end + -alis -al; perhaps akin to Latin figere to pierce, fasten — more at dike
1.
a.
(1) : not to be altered or undone : conclusive , decisive
a genuinely popular ballad can have no fixed and final form, no sole authentic version — F.J.Child
all sales are final
the industry was heading toward its final decline — R.H.Brown
in all free states the Constitution is final — John Adams
(2) : constituting the ultimate in degree, achievement, or utilization : approaching perfection : perfect : not to be done again : definitive
a concept of art as disinterested, digested, measured, disciplined, and final — S.E.Hyman
line, color, and tonal relations coalesce with final surety — Bernard Smith
they have succumbed to the final sin, despair — The Reporter
a meticulously detailed, authentic, and one would imagine final biography — Evelyn Eaton
b.
(1) : ending a court action or proceeding leaving nothing further to be determined by the court or to be done except the administrative execution of the court's finding but not precluding an appeal — used of a court order, decision, judgment, decree, or sentence; compare interlocutory
(2) : being a court finding that is conclusive as to jurisdiction and precluding the right to appeal to or continue the case in any other court upon the merits
in some minor matters the decisions of the lower courts are usually made final
— often used in the phrase final and conclusive
(3) : being a judgment or decree of the Supreme Court of the United States given under the provisions of the statutes giving it jurisdiction over appeals and writs of error that eliminates the litigation between the parties on the merits and leaves nothing for the inferior court to do in case of an affirmance except to execute the judgment or decree
(4) of a court hearing : being the last at which evidence may be presented or the last at which argument may be made
2.
a. : relating to or occurring at the end or conclusion : last , terminating
final illness
the final day of a school term
one final comment is necessary
in the final analysis, this is a second-rate work
b.
(1) : last in a series of economic increments — compare marginal
(2) : not to be processed further but consumed or utilized as is : ultimate — used of a commodity
c. : of that form regularly employed only at the end of a word — used of a letter in any of a number of alphabets (as the Hebrew and Arabic) that has two or more positional forms
writing a final letter in medial position
3.
a. : relating to an end or object to be gained : related to the purpose or ultimate end in view
b. : expressive of purpose — used of a subordinate clause, sometimes also of a conjunction ( that, in order that, lest ) introducing it
Synonyms: see last
II. noun
( -s )
: something that is final: as
a. : a deciding match, game, heat, or trial — usually used in plural
qualified to play in the finals
b. : the last examination in a course — usually used in the plural with the
busily preparing for the finals
also : the last examination or set of examinations taken by a candidate for an advanced degree
after his thesis was accepted, he'd come down … and take his final — G.R.Stewart
c.
[Medieval Latin finalis, from Latin, adjective]
: the keynote of an ecclesiastical mode
the final is d in Dorian mode
d. : the final sound or letter of a syllable, morpheme, or word
e. : a form of an alphabetical letter (as in the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets) that regularly is used only at the end of a word
f. : final edition
III. noun
: the last stage of an aircraft's descent toward a landing place