Finite structures are not first-order axiomatizable

ID: finite-structures-are-not-first-order-axiomatizable

If a first-order theory had exactly the finite structures in a class containing arbitrarily large members, adjoin constants and require them to be pairwise distinct. Every finite fragment has a sufficiently large finite model, while compactness produces an infinite model, a contradiction. In particular, finite groups are not first-order axiomatizable.

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