An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/fein

by Friedrich Kluge

fein, adj., ‘fine, elegant, cunning,’ from MidHG. vîn, fîn, adj., ‘fine, beautiful’; OHG. *fîn may be inferred from the adv. fînlîhho, which is first recorded in a gloss of the 10th cent.; comp. Du. fijn, E. fine. Borrowed from a word common to Romance, Ital. fino (Fr. fin), with the prim. meaning ‘perfect, genuine, pure,’ which is a late adj. form from Lat. finire.