late 14c., "eternal, limitless," also "extremely great in number," from Old French infinit "endless, boundless" and directly from Latin infinitus "unbounded, unlimited, countless, numberless," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + finitus "defining, definite," from finis "end" (see finish (v.)). The noun meaning "that which is infinite" is from 1580s.
