different between fine vs choice

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English fin, fyn, from Old French fin (“fine, minute, exact”), of obscure origin, but probably derived from Latin f?n?re (“to finish”) and/or f?nis (“boundary, limit, end”), with an abstract sense of "fine" or "thin" also arising in many Romance languages (compare Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian fino). Doublet of fino.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fa?n/,
• Rhymes: -a?n
• (Tasmanian) IPA^(key): /fæ?n/

Adjective

fine (comparative finer, superlative finest)

1. Senses referring to subjective quality.
   1. Of superior quality.

      • "A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there. […]."

      Synonyms: good, excellent

   2. (informal) Being acceptable, adequate, passable, or satisfactory.

      Synonyms: all right, ok, o.k., okay, hunky-dory, kosher

   3. (informal) Good-looking, attractive.
   4. Subtle, delicately balanced or discriminated.
   5. (obsolete) Showy; overdecorated.
      • 1853, Matthew Arnold, Preface to The Poems of Matthew Arnold

        They will permit the poet to select any action he pleases, and to suffer that action to go as it will, provided he gratifies them with occasional bursts of fine writing

   6. Delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; dexterous.
      • c. 1692, John Dryden, Discourse on Satire

        The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in fine raillery.

      • 1728, John Gay, The Beggar's Opera

        He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a woman.

   7. An answer often used to cover an unnecessary explanation, rather to avoid conflict or an argument. Saying "I'm fine" can be used to avoid inquiry when the speaker is not really okay.

2. Senses referring to objective quality.
   1. Of a particular grade of quality, usually between very good and very fine, and below mint.

   2. (of weather) Sunny and not raining.
   3. Consisting of especially minute particulate; made up of particularly small pieces.

      Synonyms: fine-grained, powdered, powdery, pulverised, pulverized, small-grained

      Antonym: coarse

   4. Particularly slender; especially thin, narrow, or of small girth.

   5. Made of slender or thin filaments.

      Synonym: fine-threaded

      Antonym: coarse

   6. Having a (specified) proportion of pure metal in its composition.

3. (cricket) Behind the batsman and at a small angle to the line between the wickets.

4. (obsolete) Subtle; thin; tenuous.

Derived terms

See below.

Translations

Adverb

fine (comparative more fine, superlative most fine)

1. Expression of (typically) reluctant agreement.

   Synonyms: all right, alright, OK, very well

2. Well, nicely, in a positive way.

   Everything worked out fine.

3. (dated, dialect, colloquial) Finely; elegantly; delicately.
4. (pool, billiards) In a manner so that the driven ball strikes the object ball so far to one side as to be barely deflected, the object ball being driven to one side.

Translations

Noun

fine (plural fines)

1. Fine champagne; French brandy.
   • 1926, Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises, Scribner 2003, page 14:

     We had dined at l'Avenue's, and afterward went to the Café de Versailles for coffee. We had several fines after the coffee, and I said I must be going.

   • 1936, Djuna Barnes, Nightwood, Faber & Faber 2007, page 18:

     He refilled his glass. ‘The fine is very good,’ he said.

2. (usually in the plural) Something that is fine; fine particles.

   They filtered silt and fines out of the soil.

Usage notes

Particularly used in plural as fines of ground coffee beans in espresso making.

See also

• filing

Verb

fine (third-person singular simple present fines, present participle fining, simple past and past participle fined)

1. (transitive) To make finer, purer, or cleaner; to purify or clarify.

   to fine gold

   • 1666 (written), 1681 (published), Thomas Hobbes, A Dialogue between a Philosopher and a Student of the Common Laws of England

     It hath been fined and refined by […] learned men.

2. (intransitive) To become finer, purer, or cleaner.
3. To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.

   to fine the soil

   (Can we find and add a quotation of L. H. Bailey to this entry?)

4. To change by fine gradations.

   to fine down a ship's lines, i.e. to diminish her lines gradually

   • I often sate at home / On evenings, watching how they fined themselves / With gradual conscience to a perfect night.

5. (transitive) To clarify (wine and beer) by filtration.
6. (intransitive, dated) To become gradually fine; to diminish; to dwindle (with away, down, or off).
   • 1882, William Clark Russell, My Watch Below

     I watched her [the ship] […] gradually fining down in the westward until I lost sight of her hull.

Synonyms

• (to make or become finer, purer, or cleaner): clarify, refine, purify

Related terms

• (clarify by filtration): finings

Translations

Derived terms

Related terms

• final
• finite

Etymology 2

From Middle English fyn, fyne, from Old French fin, from Medieval Latin finis (“a payment in settlement or tax”). Doublet of finis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fa?n/,

Noun

fine (plural fines)

2. A fee levied as punishment for breaking the law.

   The fine for jay-walking has gone from two dollars to thirty in the last fifteen years.

Synonyms

• amercement

Translations

Verb

fine (third-person singular simple present fines, present participle fining, simple past and past participle fined)

2. (transitive) To issue a fine as punishment to (someone).

3. (intransitive) To pay a fine.
   • 1818, Henry Hallam, View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages

     Men fined for the king's good will; or that he would remit his anger; women fined for leave to marry.

Synonyms

• amerce

Translations

Related terms

• finance

Etymology 3

From Italian fine (“end”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: f?'n?, IPA^(key): /?fi?ne?/

Noun

fine (plural fines)

1. (music) The end of a musical composition.
2. (music) The location in a musical score that indicates the end of the piece, particularly when the piece ends somewhere in the middle of the score due to a section of the music being repeated.

Usage notes

This word is virtually never used in speech and therefore essentially confined to musical notation.

Derived terms

• da capo al fine=D.C. al fine

Etymology 4

From Middle English finen, fynen, from Old French finer, finir. See finish (transitive verb).

Verb

fine (third-person singular simple present fines, present participle fining, simple past and past participle fined)

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To finish; to cease.
2. (obsolete, transitive) To cause to cease; to stop.

Noun

fine (plural fines)

1. (obsolete) End; conclusion; termination; extinction.
2. A final agreement concerning lands or rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Spelman to this entry?)

3. (Britain, law) A sum of money or price paid for obtaining a benefit, favor, or privilege, as for admission to a copyhold, or for obtaining or renewing a lease.

References

• “fine”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

Anagrams

• Enif, Fein, NiFe, feni, ifen, neif, nief, nife

Asturian

Verb

fine

1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive of finar

Danish

Adjective

fine

1. plural and definite singular attributive of fin

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fine/
• Hyphenation: fi?ne
• Rhymes: -ine
• Audio:

Adverb

fine

1. finally, at last; at the end
2. in the final analysis, when all's said and done

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fin/
• Rhymes: -in

Adjective

fine

1. feminine singular of fin

Noun

fine f (plural fines)

1. (typography) thin space, non-breakable space
2. a number of high grade French brandies (usually AOC certified)

Further reading

• “fine” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Futuna-Aniwa

Noun

fine

1. woman, female (of any sort)

References

• Arthur Capell, Futuna-Aniwa Dictionary, with Grammatical Introduction (1984)

Ido

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fine/

Adverb

fine

1. finally

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish fine, from Proto-Celtic *weny? (“family”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh?- (“desire”); compare Old English wine (“friend”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?f??n??/

Noun

fine f (genitive singular fine, nominative plural finte)

1. family group
   1. race
   2. territory of a family group

Declension

Derived terms

• Fine Gael

Mutation

Further reading

• "fine" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• Entries containing “fine” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
• Entries containing “fine” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

Italian

Etymology

From Latin f?nis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fi.ne/
• Hyphenation: fì?ne

Adjective

fine (plural fini)

1. thin

   Synonym: sottile

2. fine
3. refined

   Synonym: elegante

Derived terms

• finemente

Adjective

fine

1. feminine plural of fino

Noun

fine f (plural fini)

1. end

   Synonyms: conclusione, finale, termine

   Antonyms: inizio, principio

Noun

fine m (plural fini)

1. aim, purpose, end

   Synonyms: scopo, obiettivo

Related terms

Anagrams

• feni

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?fi?.ne/, [?fi?n?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?fi.ne/, [?fi?n?]

Noun

f?ne

1. ablative singular of f?nis

References

• fine in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish faigen (“sheath, scabbard”), from Latin v?g?na. Cognate with Irish faighin and Scottish Gaelic faighean.

Noun

fine m (genitive singular fine, plural fineyn)

1. quiver
2. sheath, scabbard

   Synonym: laan

3. (anatomy) vagina

   Synonyms: pihtt, pitt

Synonyms

• cuinnag

Mutation

North Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian finda, which derives from Proto-West Germanic *finþan. Cognates include Föhr-Amrum North Frisian finj and West Frisian fine.

Verb

fine

1. (Mooring Dialect) to find

Conjugation

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

fine

1. definite singular of fin
2. plural of fin

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

fine

1. definite singular of fin
2. plural of fin

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *weny?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?f?in?e/

Noun

fine f

1. family, kin, group of people of common descent
2. clan, tribe, race

Inflection

Descendants

• Irish: fine

Mutation

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “fine”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: fi?ne

Verb

fine

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of finar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of finar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of finar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of finar

Romanian

Etymology

From Italian fine, and partly French fin.

Noun

fine f (uncountable)

1. (literary) end

   Synonym: sfâr?it

Derived terms

• în fine

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fine/, [?fi.ne]

Verb

fine

1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of finir.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of finir.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of finir.

Swedish

Adjective

fine

1. absolute definite natural masculine form of fin.

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian finda, from Proto-West Germanic *finþan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fin?/

Verb

fine

1. to find
2. to decide that, to form the opinion that

Inflection

Further reading

• “fine (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

English

Alternative forms

• choise, choyse (both obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English chois, from Old French chois (“choice”), from choisir (“to choose, perceive”), possibly via assumed Vulgar Latin *caus?re (“to choose”), from Gothic ???????????????????????????? (kausjan, “to make a choice, taste, test, choose”), from Proto-Germanic *kauzijan?, from *keusan? (“to choose”), from Proto-Indo-European *?ews- (“to choose”). Akin to Old High German kiosan (“to choose”), Old English ??osan (“to choose”), Old Norse kjósa (“to choose”). More at choose.

The adjectival meaning of "especially good, preferred, select" was likely influenced by Middle English chyse, chys, chis (“choice, excellent”), from Old English ??s, *??es (“choice; dainty; nice”), related to Old English ??osan (“to choose”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t???s/
• Rhymes: -??s

Noun

choice (countable and uncountable, plural choices)

1. An option; a decision; an opportunity to choose or select something.

   Do I have a choice of what color to paint it?

2. (uncountable) The power to choose.

   She didn't leave us much choice.
3. One selection or preference; that which is chosen or decided; the outcome of a decision.

   The ice cream sundae is a popular choice for dessert.

4. Anything that can be chosen.

5. (usually with the) The best or most preferable part.
6. (obsolete) Care and judgement in selecting; discrimination, selectiveness.
   • 1625, Francis Bacon, Apophthegms

     I imagine they [the apothegms of Caesar] were collected with judgment and choice.

   • 1757, Edmund Burke, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, London: R. & J. Dodsley, Part I, Section I, p. 1,^[2]

     We see children perpetually running from place to place to hunt out something new; they catch with great eagerness, and with very little choice, at whatever comes before them; their attention is engaged by every thing, because every thing has, in that stage of life, the charm of novelty to recommend it.

7. (obsolete) A sufficient number to choose among.

Synonyms

• (selection or preference): option, possibility; see also Thesaurus:option
• (anything that can be chosen): assortment, range, selection
• (definite: best or most preferable part): the cream
• (sufficient number to choose among): abundance, profusion; see also Thesaurus:cornucopia

Derived terms

• choicy
• Hercules' choice
• Hobson's choice
• Sophie's choice

Related terms

• choose
• choosey
• chosen

Translations

Adjective

choice (comparative choicer or more choice, superlative choicest or most choice)

1. Especially good or preferred.

   It's a choice location, but you will pay more to live there.
2. (obsolete) Careful in choosing; discriminating.
   • 1856, J. R. Planché (tr.), Fairy Tales by the Countess d'Aulnoy, The Princess Carpillon:

     Thus musing, he ate nothing; the Queen, believing that it was in consequence of his having been unkindly received, loaded him with caresses; she herself handed him some exquisite fruits, of which she was very choice.

Synonyms

• (especially good or preferred): prime, prize, quality, select, choicy

Translations

Interjection

choice

1. (slang, New Zealand) Cool; excellent.

   "I'm going to the movies." —"Choice!"

See also

• choicy

References

• choice at OneLook Dictionary Search
• choice in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• echoic