early 15c., "limited in space or time, finite," from Latin finitum, past participle of finire "to limit, set bounds; come to an end" (see finish (v.)). Related: Finitely; finiteness.
syllable formed when the word-forming element -ude, making abstract nouns from adjectives and participles, is fixed to a base or to another suffix ending in -t or -te; from French -ude, from Latin -udo (stem -udin-). The equivalent of native -ness.
