finite

Everyday

1. Finite means having an end or a limit; not going on forever. tree →
2. (grammar) A finite verb is a verb that shows tense and agrees with its subject, as in «she runs». tree →

In the lessons

In maths, a finite set has a countable number of things; numbers themselves are infinite; in science and geography, finite resources like oil and coal will run out; in grammar, finite and non-finite verbs.

Examples

• The Earth has finite supplies of oil. tree →
• Our time on the trip is finite, so let's hurry. tree →
• A finite set has an end, like the days of the week. tree →
• The counting numbers are infinite, not finite. tree →
• In «She sings», «sings» is a finite verb. tree →

Note

Opposite: «infinite» (no end). Say it «FY-nite»; but «infinite» is «IN-fin-it». Maths: finite = you could, in principle, finish counting.

In Jewish tradition

Interpretation: Sefer Yetzirah's writers speak of the finite and the infinite: things that have limits, and God, who has none. In the primary lessons: In maths, a finite set has a countable number of things; numbers themselves are infinite; in science and geography, finite resources like oil and coal will run out; in grammar, finite and non-finite verbs.

Examples

• The word סָפַר safar is technically a finite verb, and not a noun as the syntax requires. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
• Since One, 1 is the finite, the Zero, 0 is the true infinite of the Pythagoreans. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• Chaos .signified in the ancient cosmogonies the vacant, in- finite space out of which sprang all things that exist. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →

Note

Opposite: «infinite» (no end). Say it «FY-nite»; but «infinite» is «IN-fin-it». Maths: finite = you could, in principle, finish counting.