Infinite \In"fi*nite\, n.
   1. That which is infinite; boundless space or duration;
      infinity; boundlessness.
      
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            Not till the weight is heaved from off the air, and
            the thunders roll down the horizon, will the serene
            light of God flow upon us, and the blue infinite
            embrace us again.                     --J.
                                                  Martineau.
      
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   2. (Math.) An infinite quantity or magnitude.
      
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   3. An infinity; an incalculable or very great number.
      
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            Glittering chains, embroidered richly o'er
            With infinite of pearls and finest gold. --Fanshawe.
      
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   4. The Infinite Being; God; the Almighty.
      
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Infinite \In"fi*nite\, a. [L. infinitus: cf. F. infini. See
   {In-} not, and {Finite}.]
   
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   1. Unlimited or boundless, in time or space; as, infinite
      duration or distance.
      
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            Whatever is finite, as finite, will admit of no
            comparative relation with infinity; for whatever is
            less than infinite is still infinitely distant from
            infinity; and lower than infinite distance the
            lowest or least can not sink.         --H. Brooke.
      
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   2. Without limit in power, capacity, knowledge, or
      excellence; boundless; immeasurably or inconceivably
      great; perfect; as, the infinite wisdom and goodness of
      God; -- opposed to {finite}.
      
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            Great is our Lord, and of great power; his
            understanding is infinite.            --Ps. cxlvii.
                                                  5.
      
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            O God, how infinite thou art!         --I. Watts.
      
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   3. Indefinitely large or extensive; great; vast; immense;
      gigantic; prodigious.
      
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            Infinite riches in a little room.     --Marlowe.
      
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            Which infinite calamity shall cause
            To human life.                        --Milton.
      
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   4. (Math.) Greater than any assignable quantity of the same
      kind; -- said of certain quantities.
      
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   5. (Mus.) Capable of endless repetition; -- said of certain
      forms of the canon, called also {perpetual fugues}, so
      constructed that their ends lead to their beginnings, and
      the performance may be incessantly repeated. --Moore
      (Encyc. of Music).

   Syn: Boundless; immeasurable; illimitable; interminable;
        limitless; unlimited; endless; eternal.
        
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infinite
     adj 1: having no limits or boundaries in time or space or extent or
            magnitude; "the infinite ingenuity of man"; "infinite
            wealth" [ant: {finite}]
     2: of verbs; having neither person nor number nor mood (as a
        participle or gerund or infinitive); "infinite verb form"
        [syn: {non-finite}] [ant: {finite}]
     3: too numerous to be counted; "incalculable riches";
        "countless hours"; "an infinite number of reasons";
        "innumerable difficulties"; "the multitudinous seas";
        "myriad stars"; "untold thousands" [syn: {countless}, {innumerable},
         {innumerous}, {myriad(a)}, {multitudinous}, {numberless},
         {uncounted}, {unnumberable}, {unnumbered}, {unnumerable}]
     4: total and all-embracing; "God's infinite wisdom"

infinite adj. [common] Consisting of a large number of objects;
   extreme. Used very loosely as in: "This program produces infinite
   garbage." "He is an infinite loser." The word most likely to follow
   `infinite', though, is {hair}. (It has been pointed out that fractals
   are an excellent example of infinite hair.) These uses are abuses of the
   word's mathematical meaning. The term `semi-infinite', denoting an
   immoderately large amount of some resource, is also heard. "This
   compiler is taking a semi-infinite amount of time to optimize my
   program." See also {semi}.

infinite
     
         1. Bigger than any {natural number}.  There are
        various formal set definitions in {set theory}: a set X is
        infinite if
     
        (i) There is a bijection between X and a proper subset of X.
     
        (ii) There is an injection from the set N of natural numbers
        to X.
     
        (iii) There is an injection from each natural number n to X.
     
        These definitions are not necessarily equivalent unless we
        accept the {Axiom of Choice}.
     
        2. The length of a line extended indefinitely.
     
        See also {infinite loop}, {infinite set}.
     
        [{Jargon File}]
     
        (1995-03-29)