FINITE


Meaning of FINITE in English

I. ˈfīˌnīt, usu -nīd.+V adjective

Etymology: Middle English finit, from Latin finitus, past participle of finire to limit, finish, end — more at finish

1.

a. : having definite or definable limits or boundaries : not illimitable : limited , bounded

a finite , although not very definite, thickness will reduce the intensity to a point where it is relatively insignificant — Samuel Glasstone

the power of credence, of imaginatively realizing a supreme event … is ridiculously finite — Arnold Bennett

the absorption of all peoples into a finite , small community — C.E.Odegaard

a universal theory cannot be induced from a finite number of facts — Maurice Cranston & J.W.N.Watkins

b. : having a nature, character, or existence subject to limitations or marked by imperfections : limited in power : not absolute : human , mortal

a finite God who struggles in his great and comprehensive way as we struggle in our weak and silly way — H.G.Wells

the impossible gulf between the finite Easterner and the infinite, pure virtue of the cowboy — D.B.Davis

incurable ills such as death, destruction … and ignorance … will always be characteristic of finite beings — M.R.Cohen

fate was inhuman, it was cruel, it excited and crushed every finite wish — F.R.Leavis

have pity on finite us — Don May

2.

a. : having a character or being completely determinable in theory or in fact either as an object of thought or as susceptible of complete enumeration or of physical measurement

b. : subject to experience

c. : neither infinite nor infinitesimal

3.

a. : less than an arbitrary positive integer and greater than the negative of that integer — used of a quantity, magnitude, or number

b. : having a finite number of elements

the set of integers is finite

4. : of, relating to, or being a verb or verb form that can function as a predicate or as the main element of one and that is limited (as in tense, person, and number)

• fi·nite·ly adverb

II. noun

( -s )

: a finite thing or being : something that is finite

III. transitive verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

: to make finite : limit

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.