finitude

English

Etymology

From finite + -itude, or from Renaissance Latin finitūdō (signifying a noun of state).

Pronunciation

  • (file)
  • (file)

Noun

finitude (countable and uncountable, plural finitudes)

  1. The state or characteristic of being finite; limitedness.
    • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 15:
      Matter expresses the finitude of time-space; in this world of limitation a new way of knowing becomes possible, and this way is language.

Usage notes

Finitude is rather formal and used in philosophy, while finiteness is used in mathematics; however, infinitude is used in mathematics more than infiniteness. Less formal is to reword to use limited: “(the fact that) life is limited” rather than “the finitude of life”.

Quotations

  • For quotations using this term, see Citations:finitude.

Synonyms

Antonyms

References

  • finitude”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fi.ni.tyd/

Noun

finitude f (plural finitudes)

  1. finitude, impermanence, transience

Further reading

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