Etymology tree
French has two main words spelled ferme: the adjective “firm”, from Latin firmus, and the noun “farm”, formed in French from the same family; a third ferme, a roof truss, comes from fermer “to fix”.[1][2][3]
ferme1 firm
Pronunciation
- IPA: /fɛʁm/[4]
Forms
ferme (plural fermes)[4] The Old French masculine ferm disappeared before the 14th century, replaced by the feminine form ferme.[2][5][1]
Etymology
The adjective is inherited from Latin firmus (“solid, firm; steadfast, reliable”).[6][2][5][1][7] Rey calls “firmus” of obscure origin, Wiktionary and Littré relate it to an Indo-European root “*dʰer-” “to hold”.[2][4][8] “Ferme”, at first only the feminine, took the place of the masculine “ferm” in the 13th century.[5][6]
Compare Italian fermo, Old Occitan ferm, Spanish firme and Portuguese firme.[5][8]
Earliest recorded meaning
Geffrei Gaimar's Estoire des Engleis (about 1140) uses the feminine ferme for “solid”; the adverb ferm “solidly” is in Marie de France (about 1180).[6][2]
Semantic evolution
Figuratively it meant “sure, steadfast” in the Roman d'Eneas (about 1160).[6][2] The Châtelain de Coucy has Tant ai en li ferm assis mon corage.[8] Terre ferme, the mainland, is old, and for Venice it named its mainland territory.[8][9] The adverb is used for “firmly” and, in the 20th century, “hard, a lot”: travailler ferme, discuter ferme.[2] In commerce a vente ferme is final, and at the Stock Exchange des fermes were firm deals (Balzac).[9][10] As an interjection, ferme ! urges courage.[1]
Timeline
- c. 1130 – Fermement.[2]
- c. 1140 – Ferme “solid”, Gaimar.[6]
- c. 1160 – “Sure”, Roman d'Eneas.[6]
- c. 1180 – Adverb ferm, Marie de France.[6]
- 13th century – Ferme as masculine.[6]
- 1372 – Affermir.[2]
Meanings
Adjective
- firm, solid, not soft: une chair ferme, la terre ferme, dry land, the mainland.[3][9][8]
- Steady, not shaking: d'une main ferme, attendre de pied ferme.[3][9]
- Resolute, unwavering: un ton ferme, être ferme avec un enfant.[9][4]
- Definite, final: une offre ferme, vente ferme, (law) prison ferme, not suspended.[9][11]
Adverb
Word family
- fermement
- affermir
- raffermir
ferme2 farm
- Confidence
- Probable
- Formation
- Back-formation
- First attested
- c. 1160–75 (rente à ferme)
- Ultimate origin
- Latin (firmus)
Pronunciation
- IPA: /fɛʁm/[4]
Forms
ferme f (plural fermes)[4]
Etymology
The farm is a deverbal noun from Old French fermer (“to make firm, fix, settle”), formed in Old French in the legal sense of the verb.[2][5] The Grand Robert takes it instead from the adjective ferme1: a “rente à ferme” was an agreement for a fixed payment.[1] Medieval Latin “firma” “lease, farm” is found in England from 1100, Wiktionary takes the word from it, mentioning a debated link with Old English feorm (“provisions, rent”), while Littré derived “firma” from Latin firmus.[2][4][8]
Earliest recorded meaning
About 1160–75 rente à ferme is a legal agreement by which land is let for a fixed rent.[2][1]
Semantic evolution
By metonymy it named the rural estate so let (1539), and then any farm and its buildings.[2] Under the Ancien Régime it also meant an agreement to collect a right or tax (1481), as in the Ferme générale set up by Colbert, whose fermiers généraux (1690) collected indirect taxes.[2] Apart from law and farming, the usual sense today is the farmhouse with its buildings.[2] Fermier “tenant of a right” (1207) and “farmer” (1282) followed the same path, and fermette (1941) names a small farm made into a country house.[2]
Timeline
- c. 1160–75 – Rente à ferme.[2][1]
- c. 1170 – Affermer.[2]
- 1207 – Fermier, tenant of a right.[2]
- 1367 – Fermage.[2]
- 1481 – The farming of a tax.[2]
- 1539 – A rural estate.[2]
- 1941 – Fermette.[2]
Meanings
Noun
- A farm; a farmhouse and its buildings: une ferme normande, la cour de la ferme.[11][4]
- (law) A lease of farmland for a fixed rent, donner à ferme.[2][11]
- (historical) The farming of taxes: la Ferme générale.[2]
- By extension, an installation of many units: ferme éolienne, a wind farm.[11]
Word family
- fermier
- fermage
- fermette
- affermer
Related words
Usage notes
A third ferme, a roof truss, is recorded in 1690 and comes from fermer in the old sense “to fix”; in the theatre it also names a piece of scenery mounted on a frame (1752).[3][6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 576a
- ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
- ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Ferme.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/ferme. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.
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