final
adjective
- last, ultimate
noun
- last game of a competition to decide the winner
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈfaɪnl̩/ / /ˈfaɪn(ə)l/ / [-nəɫ]
adj
Etymology: From Middle English final, fynal, fynall, from Old French final, from Latin fīnālis (“of or relating to the end or to boundaries”), from fīnis (“end”); see fine. Replaced native English endly (“final”).
- Last; ultimate.
“final solution; the final day of a school term”
“Yet despair not of his final pardon.”
- Conclusive; decisive.
“a final judgment; the battle of Waterloo brought the contest to a final issue”
- Respecting an end or object to be gained; respecting the purpose or ultimate end in view.
- Expressing purpose; as in the term final clause.
- Word-final; occurring at the end of a word.
“Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.”
noun
Etymology: From Middle English final, fynal, fynall, from Old French final, from Latin fīnālis (“of or relating to the end or to boundaries”), from fīnis (“end”); see fine. Replaced native English endly (“final”).
- A final examination; a test or examination given at the end of a term or class; the test that concludes a class.
“It was tough cramming for those midterms and finals, staying up 72 hours straight hepped up on caffeine and pizza.”
- A final examination taken at the end of the final year of an undergraduate course, which contributes towards a student's degree classification.
- The last round, game or match in a contest, after which the winner is determined.
- The final part of a syllable, the combination of medial and rime in phonetics and phonology.
- The tonic or keynote of a Gregorian mode, and hence the final note of any conventional melody played in that mode.
verb
Etymology: From Middle English final, fynal, fynall, from Old French final, from Latin fīnālis (“of or relating to the end or to boundaries”), from fīnis (“end”); see fine. Replaced native English endly (“final”).
- To qualify for the final round of a competition.
“Mike finalled in both the 400 meter and the 800 meter races.”
“Early in his swimming career, Baker finaled in the 200 fly at both the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Trials and was a two-time Pacific 10 Champion in the event for the University of Arizona.”