indefinito

Indefinito is an Italian adjective meaning undefined or indefinite. It is used to describe things that are not fixed, specified, or fully determined. The term derives from Latin indefinitus, meaning not defined or not limited, and it appears in both everyday language and specialized discourse to indicate lack of precision or specification.

In Italian grammar, indefiniteness is expressed with indefinite articles un, una, uno, depending on gender and initial sound. The plural form is not marked by a dedicated indefinite article; quantity is conveyed with words such as alcuni or alcune, or with partitive forms like dei, delle, degli to indicate some.

In mathematics and related fields, indefinito describes notions lacking fixed scope or boundaries. The term is commonly used in Italian to name the indefinite integral (integrale indefinito), the antiderivative F of a function f, such that F′ = f, written as ∫ f(x) dx + C. This is contrasted with the definite integral (integrale definito), which has lower and upper limits and evaluates to a specific number.

In philosophy and logic, the related idea of indefiniteness appears in discussions of indefinite descriptions or reference, where an expression does not pick out a unique object. The distinction between definite and indefinite reference is a recurring theme in theories of language and meaning.

Across disciplines, indefinito signals non-specificity, open-endedness, or lack of precise determination, and the term is often translated as "indefinite" or "undefined" in English contexts.