definite

/ˈdefənət/DEH-fuh-nuht

/ˈdɛfənət/DEH-fuh-nuht

Meaningbounded

Common meaning: clear and fixed

Other meanings: not vague

dedown, away, off; undoing
fina boundary, end, limitLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 751 · scan
iteadjective ending (Latin past participle -itus)

‘down, away, off’ + ‘a boundary, end, limit’ → definite

Journey through time

Latinfīnis‘a boundary, end, limit’
Frenchdefiner
Englishdefinite‘clear and fixed’ · today

de- also in: deter decamp decide deduce defame

fin also in: fine final finish finite finance

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin fīnis ‘a boundary, end, limit’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry fīnis, p. 751 · dictionary scan; Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry FINE, p. 209 · dictionary scan

Roots

fīnis Latin “a boundary, end, limit”

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