finta

See also: fintá

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish finta.

Noun

finta (plural fintas)

1. (Judaism) A yearly synagogue membership fee (in Western Sephardic communities)
   • 1893, Israel Zangwill, “Showing How the King Enriched the Synagogue” (chapter VI), in The King of Schnorrers‎^[1] (fiction), New York: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 142:

     "Pah! What are you talking of, sir?" and he looked up cautiously for the first time at the picturesque figure. "What does the Synagogue want of me? I pay my finta and every bill the rascals send me. Monstrous fine sums, too, egad—"

   • 1872, “Regulations respecting the finta, and Election of Fintadores.” (chapter II), in Ascamot: or, Laws and Regulations of the Congregation of Spanish and Portuguese Jews‎^[2], revised and amended edition, London: Wertheimer, Lea & Co., →OCLC, Ascamot of the Elders, page 12:

     To provide for the expenses of our Synagogues, as well as for the assistance of our poor, the Finta annually paid in the Congregation was established; and in the year 5569 a meeting of the Yehidim fixed the maximum amount thereof at £1,400 per annum. The mode of raising the said Finta shall be as follows:—
     1st. Every two years, at the Annual Meeting of the Elders, the said gentlemen shall take into consideration the amount to be raised as Finta, within the limit of the said £1,400, and in the month of Tebet ensuing, notices shall be issued to the Yehidim to meet in the Chamber of the Mahamad, on the day and hour which the said Mahamad shall appoint, to elect ten persons, who, jointly with the five gentlemen of the Mahamad, shall be the Fintadores (assessors of the Finta), the ballot for which shall be open for one hour from the time fixed for the meeting.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian finta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [ˈfin.tə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈfin.ta]

Noun

finta f (plural fintes)

1. (sports) feint

Derived terms

• fintar

Further reading

• “finta”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Czech

Etymology

Etymology tree

Italian fintabor.

German Fintebor.

Czech finta

Borrowed from German Finte.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfɪnta]

Noun

finta f

1. (colloquial) feint, trick

   V karty hrál ne vždy poctivě, znaje mnoho rozličných fortelů a fint. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Declension

Declension of finta (hard feminine)

	singular	plural
nominative	finta	finty
genitive	finty	fint
dative	fintě	fintám
accusative	fintu	finty
vocative	finto	finty
locative	fintě	fintách
instrumental	fintou	fintami

Further reading

• “finta”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “finta”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “finta”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfin.ta/
• Rhymes: -inta
• Hyphenation: fìn‧ta

Etymology 1

From the feminine of finto.

Adjective

finta

1. feminine singular of finto

Noun

finta f (plural finte)

1. affectation, simulation

   la sua penitenza è una finta ― his remorse is just for show

2. (sports) feint, dummy

Derived terms

• per finta

Related terms

• fingersi
• finzione

Descendants

• → Catalan: finta
• → Dutch: fint
• → German: Finte
• → Portuguese: finta
• → Spanish: finta

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

finta

1. inflection of fintare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• finta in Collins Italian-English Dictionary
• finta in Aldo Gabrielli, Grandi Dizionario Italiano (Hoepli)
• finta in garzantilinguistica.it – Garzanti Linguistica, De Agostini Scuola Spa
• “finta” in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
• finta in sapere.it – De Agostini Editore
• “finta”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Anagrams

• fanti, tanfi

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *fintô (“tail, train”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to pull, stretch”). Cognate with Latin pendeō (“to hang”). Related to spin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfin.tɑ/

Noun

finta m

1. tail
2. sequel
3. consequence; result

Declension

Weak:

	singular	plural
nominative	finta	fintan
accusative	fintan	fintan
genitive	fintan	fintena
dative	fintan	fintum

References

• Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “finta”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfĩ.tɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfĩ.tɐ/

• Hyphenation: fin‧ta

Etymology 1

From Latin fincta, variant of Latin ficta (“fake, fictitious”)

Noun

finta f (plural fintas)

1. (sports) dribble

   Synonym: drible

2. (sports) feint

Etymology 2

From Latin finita (“finished, finite”)

Noun

finta f (plural fintas)

1. An extraordinary income tax
2. A church rate or parish tax
3. (Judaism): A yearly synagogue membership tithe

Further reading

• “finta”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “finta”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfinta/ [ˈfĩn̪.t̪a]
• Rhymes: -inta
• Syllabification: fin‧ta

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian.

Noun

finta f (plural fintas)

1. feint, dummy

Derived terms

• hacer la finta

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Portuguese finta.

Noun

finta f (plural fintas)

1. (historical) A tribute or tax which is paid to the state from the produce of each subject's estate.
2. (Judaism) A yearly synagogue membership tithe.

Descendants

• → English: finta

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

finta

1. inflection of fintar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “finta”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swedish

Verb

finta (present fintar, preterite fintade, supine fintat, imperative finta)

1. (often followed by bort (“away”)) to feint (perform a mock attack or otherwise feign intentions in order to confuse someone)

Usage notes

About sports maneuvers as well as other actions meant to confuse or outwit, where it's seen as figurative.

Conjugation

Conjugation of finta (weak)

	active		passive
infinitive	finta		fintas
supine	fintat		fintats
imperative	finta		—
imper. plural1	finten		—
	present	past	present	past
indicative	fintar	fintade	fintas	fintades
ind. plural1	finta	fintade	fintas	fintades
subjunctive2	finte	fintade	fintes	fintades
present participle		fintande
past participle		fintad

¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Related terms

• fint (“a feint”)

References

• “finta”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “finta”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “finta”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)