Etymology: Of somewhat doubtful etymology; most likely < finick v. + -ing suffix²; the chief difficulty is that the adjective is recorded from the middle of 17th cent., while the verb is known only from a very recent period. It has been suggested that finikin is the original form, and is of Dutch origin; compare Middle Dutch fijnkens adverb, accurately, neatly, prettily (Kilian). On this hypothesis the words finical and finick noun and verb must in some way have been evolved < finikin. The conjecture however is unsupported by evidence, and finical appears 70 years earlier than the earliest known instance of finikin.