Infinite

How to spell infinite

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce infinite

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does infinite mean?

1. adjectiveHaving no boundary, end, or measurable limit in size, extent, or number.

Infinite in a sentence

• The night sky can make space feel infinite and impossible to map.

• She had nearly infinite patience with the trainees on their first day.

Where does infinite come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin infinitus, which simply meant 'unbounded' or 'endless'. It was formed by attaching the negative prefix in-, meaning 'not', to finitus, the past participle of finire, 'to limit' or 'to bring to an end', which in turn rests on finis, the Latin noun for a 'boundary' or 'end'. English took the word in during the 1300s, partly through Old French, to describe things without limit, whether in space, time, or quantity. That same finis root quietly underpins a whole family of familiar words such as 'finish', 'final', 'finance', and 'define', all of which carry the idea of an end or boundary. Keeping that buried 'fin' in mind helps with the spelling: infinite is literally 'not finite', and the unstressed second and third syllables (fih-nit) hide the very 'fin' that gives the word its meaning.

How the word is built

• in- (not)
• fin (end, boundary, from finis)
• -ite (adjective suffix)