Etymology of the phrase "fine art"?

I'm reading in a book:

A work of fine art is “fine” not because it is “refined” or “finished,” but because it is an end (finis, Latin, means end) in itself.

Can anyone corroborate that? Multiple online dictionaries seem to disagree and sites like Wikipedia don't even bother with the etymology of the phrase... 🤔

Solution 1:

According to Merriam-Webster, the word fine in fine art might be derived from the Germanic

*baina- [meaning] "bone" and "straight"...originally...an upright branch or stake used to mark boundaries

and as the boundary is the end (the present state ends at its boundary), fine art is also the end of art. That is, once you have advanced along your way until you arrive at fine art, if you advance further you will find that art no longer advances along with you: Fine art is the final art, there is no art beyond fine art, it is the ultimate, the last and best art. You might increase the distance you have traversed, but the quality of art you encounter will no longer increase in correlation with the distance you have traversed.