- finesse (n.)
- 1520s, "fineness" (obsolete); 1530s, "artifice, delicate stratagem," from Middle French finesse "fineness, subtlety," from Old French fin "subtle, delicate" (see fine (adj.)).
- finesse (v.)
- "to use fine stratagems," 1746, originally as a term in whist; see finesse (n.). Related: Finessed; finessing.
