firma

Forms

firma f (plural firmas)^[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from Spanish firmar (“to sign”).^[2][3][4] Corominas lists it among the derivatives of firme, dating the verb to the 10th century and the noun to 1206.^[5] The verb is from Latin firmō (“to make firm, confirm”), a learned form beside the popular hirmar “to secure, fasten”.^[1][6] The Latin verb is formed on firmus (“firm, stable”), from *dʰer-mo- (“holding”).^[7]

The Academy noted a Medieval Latin firma from 1899 on, and Niermeyer records it in the sense of a judicial oath sworn by the claimant, formed on the verb.^[8][9] Bénaben explains the sense “signature” as a firm commitment, and gives “agreement with a guarantee” for the Medieval Latin word.^[10] Covarrubias and the Diccionario de Autoridades say the signature is so called because it makes firm everything written above it.^[11][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas dates the word 1206.^[5] DEMel lists earlier records, in the Mozarabic documents of Toledo (1159) and in the Fuero de San Sebastián (c. 1180).^[13] The earliest hits in the CDH are the Latin adjective firma “firm” in Latin charters; in the Fuero de Zorita de los Canes (1218–c. 1250) firmas are the witnesses or proofs that a claimant must bring.^[14][15]

Semantic evolution

In Alfonso X's General estoria the word means an oath (1272–1275) and a signature on a written agreement (1280): esta postura con sus pleytesias & sus firmas fue escripta & firmada.^[16] Nebrija gives firma de escriptura as Latin subscriptio, and Percyvall's dictionary of 1591 has a firme of the hand.^[17][18] Older senses were a witness who signed a deed, and a signed note by which a schoolmaster let a pupil off a beating, as in Quevedo; in Asturias the word meant a shirt collar.^[15][12][19]

The Academy recorded from 1817 the Aragonese legal process called firma, one of the four procesos forales, which kept someone in possession of goods or rights, and the firma en blanco.^[20][21] By 1869 it had buena and mala firma for a merchant with or without credit, and the batch of papers presented to a superior for signing.^[22] The sense “business, company” is called an adapted Anglicism from firm, in the Academy's dictionary since 1984.^[23] Etymonline derives English firm “business house” (1744) from German Firma and Italian firma “signature”, while Bénaben derives it from the Spanish word.^[24][10]

Timeline

• 1206 – Corominas's date for the first record.^[5]
• 1218–c. 1250 – the Fuero de Zorita de los Canes uses firmas for witnesses or proofs.^[14]
• 1272–1275 – the General estoria uses it for an oath.^[16]
• 1280 – the General estoria uses it for the signatures on an agreement.^[16]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija gives Latin subscriptio and signatio.^[17]
• 1543 – the first record from the Americas, in Panama.^[25]
• 1611 – Covarrubias derives it from firme.^[11]
• 1744 – English firm “business house” is first recorded.^[24]
• 1817 – the Academy records the Aragonese process called firma and the firma en blanco.^[20]
• 1869 – the Academy adds buena and mala firma.^[22]
• 1984 – the sense “company” enters the Academy's dictionary.^[23]

Meanings

Noun

1. A signature: a person's name written in their own hand on a document, with or without a flourish, to authenticate it or show approval: Falta tu firma al pie de la solicitud.^[2][1]
2. A mark or set of strokes, always made the same way, that identifies a person and replaces their name in signing.^[2]
3. The batch of documents presented to someone for signing.^[2][26]
4. The act of signing: La firma del acuerdo será el lunes.^[2]
5. A firm, company; a business name.^[2][1]
6. A hallmark, a characteristic mark of style: El atentado lleva la firma de un grupo radical.^[2][26]
7. An author or journalist of standing, especially a writer.^[2]
8. (Guatemala, Honduras) A swindler.^[27]

Word family

• antefirma

Related words

• firmar
• firme
• firmeza
• hirmar
• Latin firmus
• Italian firma

Usage notes

Buena firma is a person of good credit in commerce, and firma digital an electronic signature.^[2] Regional senses include a branch of broom in Ciudad Rodrigo and a strip of cloth stiffening the hem of a skirt in León;^[28][29][30] echar firmas al brasero was to stir the embers of a brazier.^[28][29][30]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. firma
3. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 309
4. ^ Wikcionario (Spanish Wiktionary), es.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. firme
6. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 2807
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 462
9. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. firma
11. ^ a b Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 848
12. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 3, 757
13. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. firma
14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. firma
15. ^ a b Salvá, Vicente (1846), Nuevo diccionario de la lengua castellana, París: Librería de Don Vicente Salvá, p. 520
16. ^ a b c Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. firma
17. ^ a b Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv, p. s.v. firma
18. ^ Percyvall, Richard (1591), Bibliothecae Hispanicae pars altera: containing a dictionarie in Spanish, English and Latine, London: John Jackson for Richard Watkins, p. 143
19. ^ Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 2, 166
20. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 417
21. ^ Borao, Jerónimo (1908), Diccionario de voces aragonesas, 2nd ed., Zaragoza: Imprenta del Hospicio Provincial, p. 15
22. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 361
23. ^ a b Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española; Universidad de Puerto Rico, Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico, https://tesoro.pr, p. s.v. firma
24. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
25. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. firma
26. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. firma
27. ^ Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. firma
28. ^ a b Lamano y Beneite, José de (1915), El dialecto vulgar salmantino, Salamanca: Tipografía Popular, p. 462
29. ^ a b Le Men Loyer, Janick (2002–2012), Léxico del leonés actual, 4 vols., León: Centro de Estudios e Investigación San Isidoro; electronic version, Universidad de León, p. s.v. firma
30. ^ a b Gaspar y Roig (eds.) (1853–1855), Biblioteca ilustrada de Gaspar y Roig: Diccionario enciclopédico de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Imprenta y Librería de Gaspar y Roig, p. 1, 1014