firma

Forms

firma f (plural firme)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian firmare (“to sign”), a back-formation: a noun made from the verb with no suffix.^[2][3][4][1] The verb is a learned word, borrowed from Latin firmō (“to make firm, confirm”), from firmus (“firm, steady”); the popular outcome of the same Latin verb is fermare.^[2][3][1]

The Latin adjective goes back to Proto-Italic *fermo-, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (“to hold”), and is related to Sanskrit धर्म (dhárma, “support, law”).^[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger (1618), with a signature that gives force to laws and decrees.^[2][6] The GDLI has an older firma “confirmation, formal pledge”, from the late 13th or early 14th century.^[7]

Semantic evolution

In the 19th century the word gained the sense of the act of signing (1869–1876).^[2] The army gave fare or mettere la firma, to sign on for longer service (1931), and the firmaiolo who did so;^[2] mettere la firma then came to mean to accept something gladly.^[2] From the 1950s a firma is also a well-known writer or journalist, after the magazine Le grandi firme, and later a famous fashion house or designer.^[2][4][8]

Italian firma spread to the languages of Europe: German Firma “signature” is recorded from 1733 and then meant a business, the sense English firm has had since 1744 after an earlier sense “signature” (1574).^[7][6] French firme (1877) came from English or German, and DEI notes that the word reached the Middle East.^[9][6]

Timeline

• Late 13th–early 14th century – Firma “confirmation, pledge” is recorded.^[7]
• 1574 – English firm is recorded in the sense “signature”.^[7]
• 1618 – Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger uses firma for a signature.^[2]
• 1733 – German Firma is recorded.^[7]
• 1744 – English firm is recorded in the sense “business”.^[7]
• 1870 – Carlo Dossi uses per onor di firma.^[2]
• 1950 – Firma is used for a writer of standing.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A signature: one's name written by hand at the end of a letter or document: Ha messo la firma in fondo alla lettera.^[4][10][8]
2. The act of signing; the formal approval of a document by someone with authority to sign it: La firma dell'accordo è prevista per domani.^[4][10][8]
3. (figurative) A mark that shows who did something: Il gol porta la firma del giovane attaccante.^[4][10][11]
4. A famous name in a field, such as a noted journalist or a fashion house.^[4][10][8]
5. (rare) A business, a firm.^[10][11]

Word family

• controfirma
• firmaiolo
• firmatario

Related words

• firmare
• fermare
• fermo
• Latin firmus
• English firm

Usage notes

Ci metterei la firma! means “I'd gladly settle for that!”^[10][11] Per onor di firma is “just to keep one's word”, and firma digitale or elettronica an electronic signature.^[10][11]

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 j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 6, 21
7. ^ a b c d e f Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
8. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1652
10. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli