核心畫面

One way to picture it: something with a fence around it. There is an edge, a last unit, a point where it runs out — you could in principle count to the end.

一樣東西外面畫了一圈界線。它有邊、有盡頭、有數得完的最後一個——你走到某個點就沒有了。重點不在「少」,而在「有邊界」更多收起一樣東西外面畫了一圈界線。它有邊、有盡頭、有數得完的最後一個——你走到某個點就沒有了。重點不在「少」,而在「有邊界」:地球上的石油是 finite,不是因為它不多,是因為它會用完。跟它相反的 infinite 就是那圈界線被拿掉,怎麼走都走不到頭。

From the word’s history

From Latin fīnītus, the past participle of fīniō 'to finish, to bound', from fīnis 'boundary, end' — the same fīnis behind finish and final.

來自拉丁文 fīnītus,是 fīniō「使結束、劃定範圍」的過去分詞,而 fīniō 來自 fīnis「界線、盡頭」。這個 fīnis 就是 finish、final、define(畫出範圍)裡的那個 fin-。所以 finite 字面上是「已經被劃好界線的」——邊界這個畫面直接寫在字根裡,兩個意思都可以從這裡讀出來。

Wiktionary 'finite' etymology (Middle English fynyte ← Latin fīnītus, pp. of fīniō ← fīnis 'boundary')

Two branches

有盡頭、數得完

這一族就是核心畫面本身:外圍有一圈界線。

having limits · adjective · C2

Having an end or a limit; not able to go on forever or to be used without end.

有限的

文法上的限定形式

同樣是「劃了界線」,只是這次被劃界線的不是數量,而是動詞形式:它被限定在特定的時態和人稱上,範圍收死了。

finite verb form · adjective · C2

A finite verb form shows a particular time, such as am, was, or are. Forms like being and been are not finite.

限定的

原始詞典資料4 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,原文照列,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

finiteadj/ˈfaɪ.naɪt/

  • 1

    Having an end or limit; (of a quantity) constrained by bounds; (of a set) whose number of elements is a natural number.

  • 2

    grammarhuman-scienceslinguisticsLimited by (i.e. inflected for) person or number.

  • 3

    finitely generated (as a module).

finitenoun/ˈfaɪ.naɪt/

  • 1

    A thing which has an end or limit.

    • Diſagreement in Subſtance or Eſſence […] may be called Diſproportion, as, there is a Diſproportion betvveen Finites and Infinites, i.e. there is no Proportion betvveen them.

資料來源:英文維基詞典 English WiktionaryCC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。