fine

“fine”音似“罚你”，可以助记

fine 好的，精细的，罚金

来自拉丁语finis, 终结，边界，词源同finish. 引申义接近极点的，最高程度的，精细的，好的。罚金义来自终结债务，解决争端等。词义演变参照sublime.

fine

fine: [12] Both the adjective and the noun fine have come a very long way since their beginnings in Latin finis ‘end’. The etymological sense of the adjective is ‘finished’ – hence, ‘of high quality’. It comes via Old French fin from Vulgar Latin *fīnus, an adjective formed from the Latin verb fīnīre ‘limit, complete’ (source of English finish). (A derivative of *finus was the noun *finitia, from which ultimately English gets finesse [15].) The noun fine also comes from an Old French fin, this time a noun descended directly from Latin fīnis.

In medieval times this was used for ‘money to be paid at the completion of legal proceedings’ – hence the present-day sense ‘payment imposed as a punishment’. From the same ultimate source, but reflecting different aspects of it, come confine [16] and define [14] (‘limitation’) and refine [16] (‘high quality’).
=> confine, define, final, finance, finesse, finish, refine

fine (adj.)

mid-13c., "unblemished, refined, pure, free of impurities," also "of high quality, choice," from Old French fin "perfected, of highest quality" (12c.), a back-formation from finire or else from Latin finis "that which divides, a boundary, limit, border, end" (see finish (v.)); hence "acme, peak, height," as in finis boni "the highest good." The English word is from c. 1300 as "rich, valuable, costly;" also in a moral sense "true, genuine; faithful, constant." From late 14c. as "expertly fashioned, well or skillfully made," also, of cloth, "delicately wrought." Of weapons or edges, "sharp" from c. 1400. In reference to quality of gold and silver, late 15c.

In French, the main meaning remains "delicate, intricately skillful;" in English since c. 1300 fine has been also a general broad expression of admiration or approval, the equivalent of French beau (as in fine arts, 1767, translating French beaux-arts). Related: Finer; finest. Fine print is from 1861 as "type small and close-set;" by 1934 in the extended sense "qualifications and limitations of a deal."

fine (n.)

c. 1200, "termination, end; end of life," from Old French fin "end, limit, boundary; death; fee, payment, finance, money" (10c.), from Latin finis "end" (see finish (v.)), in Medieval Latin also "payment in settlement, fine or tax."

Modern meaning "exaction of money payment for an offense or dereliction" is via sense of "sum of money paid for exemption from punishment or to compensate for injury" (mid-14c., from the same sense in Anglo-French, late 13c.) and from phrases such as to make fine "make one's peace, settle a matter" (c. 1300). Meaning "sum of money imposed as penalty for some offense" is first recorded 1520s.

fine (v.)

late 13c., "pay as a ransom or penalty," from fine (n.). Inverted meaning "to punish by pecuniary penalty" is from 1550s. Related: Fined; fining.

1. "I want to send a telegram." — "Fine, to whom?"

“我想发份电报。”——“好的，发给谁？”

2. She's going to be fine. She always was pretty strong.

她会好的。她一直都很强壮。

3. Before the race, he is fine. But afterwards he is worn out.

赛前他状态很好，赛后就筋疲力尽了。

4. Billy Sullivan had impressed me as a fine man.

比利·沙利文给我留下的印象是他是个很不错的人。

5. He was about seven years old, small and fine-boned like his mother.

他大概7岁，骨架像他妈妈一样娇小均匀。

【delicate, fine, subtle】
这组词都有“微妙的，细微的”的意思，其区别是：
delicate: 侧重指需要谨慎处理和对待。
fine: 隐含“不易察觉的”意味。
subtle: 侧重有洞察、领悟事物细微差别以及微妙关系的能力。

【beautiful, lovely, handsome, fine, pretty, fair】
这组词都有“美丽的，漂亮的”的意思，其区别是：
beautiful: 普通用词，含义广泛，语气最强，指优美和谐，是一种几乎接近完美的美。指人时通常形容女人或小孩，很少用于描写男子。
lovely: 普通用词，描写人时，主要指女人和小孩的相貌，语气不如beautiful强。
handsome: 多用于描写男性的英俊潇洒。有时也形容女人，指其五官端正，体态秀丽。
fine: 指在容貌、身材或风度等方面令人感到可爱。用于事物时，强调形式或内容的优美。
pretty: 普通用词，语气比beautiful弱，多用于描写妇女、儿童以及小巧玲珑，精美可爱之物。
fair: 正式用词，多用于文学中，形容女子和儿童，侧重外表的美。