finity
nounEtymology From French finité, from Old French finité, from fini (past participle of finir (“to bound”)) + -ité.
1
Rare The state or characteristic of being limited in number or scope.
- He was calm in the conviction that he could measure and calculate the universe […] He matched finity against the Infinite.1874, Julian Hawthorne, chapter 31, in Idolatry: A Romance:
- Nature has many tricks wherewith she convinces man of his finity.1899, Jack London, The White Silence:
2 more examples
- In a very non-Aristotelian fashion, Nicholas of Cusa produced a synthesis of finity and infinity.1987, Julius Thomas Fraser, Time, the Familiar Stranger, →ISBN, page 37:
- We […] labor to find our identity in the infinite in spite of our encumberment in finity.2006, Rolf A. F. Witzsche, Universal Divine Science: Spiritual Pedagogicals, →ISBN, page 106:
2
Rare Something which is limited in number or scope.
- If we imagined a person capable of comprehending infinity, we should merely think that he was able infinitely to add up finities.1837 September 2, “The Transcendalist's Dialogues: No. IX”, in The Shepherd, volume 3, number 10, page 79:
- And this condescension of infinite Perfection to the finities—to their imperfections, contingencies, and littlenesses—is the very result of its perfection.1884 January 23, “Prayer and Science”, in Methodist Quarterly Review (4th), volume 66, page 8:
- Synonyms
- boundedness, finitude, finiteness, limitedness, enclosedness, finity
- Antonyms
- infinity, unlimitedness, endlessness, infiniteness, infinitude, limitlessness