finifugal

From Latin fīnis (“end”) +‎ -fugal.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌfɪnɪˈfjuːɡəl/

finifugal (comparative more finifugal, superlative most finifugal)

1. (rare) Averse to something ending (e.g. a TV series) out of a desire for it to continue on forever.
   • 1884, Tollemache, Mr. and Mrs. Lionel Arthur, “Recollections of Dean Stanley”, in Safe studies‎^[1], page 374:

     […] he could hardly remember an instance in which a classical writer referred to the setting sun; the fact was, that they disliked the idea of sunset, and recoiled from the end of everything. Whether he was right—nay, whether he was quite serious in this opinion I am not certain. In modern as well as in ancient times, the finifugal tendency, as we may call it, is apparent.

   • 2013, Mark Forsyth, “Epilogue”, in The Horologicon, London: Icon Books, →ISBN, page 237:

     I am feeling finifugal, and I have to say goodbye to my dictionaries.

   • 2014 February 20, Gus, “My obession is over”, in alt.life.sucks‎^[2] (Usenet):

     I want my macaroni and cheese, and to eat it too... I think I'm finifugal. I hope it's not terminal.

   • 2016, Shepard, Neil, “"Last Resorts"”, in Sewanee Review‎^[3], volume 124, number 1, pages 17-18:

     Does it matter the meter’s ticking faster? That meter and measure are one; meter and moon and mensesare one; meter and month and meal do the same work, measuring time?And we’re back to shunning the end of anything: finifugal.

   • 2025 December 1, Lucinda Surber and Stan Ulrich, Stop You're Killing Me‎^[4] (blog):

     Dent is an etymologist and infuses the characters in this clever debut mystery with her passion for language, beginning each chapter with a dictionary definition of an obscure word, and leaving the reader feeling a bit finifugal on the final page, not wanting the book to end.