firm English · revision 2888

+ English has two words spelled ''firm'': the adjective “fixed, solid”, from Latin firmus, and the noun “business”, which comes from the same Latin word by way of Italian or Spanish firma “signature”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /fɜːm/, US /fɝːm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|solid}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1374|origins=la firmus}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective is [[inh|enm|ferm]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|fro|ferme|t=strong, steadfast]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|firmus|t=strong, stable]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from a suffixed form of [[ine-pro|*dher-|t=to hold firmly, support]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The spelling with ''-i-'' was restored after Latin in the late 16th century.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The verb, Middle English fermen, is from Old French fermer or directly [[der|la|firmāre|t=to make firm]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart compares Latin frētus “relying on” and Greek thrónos “seat”, as does Merriam-Webster.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Latin firmus is also the source of [[farm]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of agreements and decrees, “fixed, settled”, and of persons, “steadfast”: about 1374.^(OED 1989) Etymonline dates the adjective to the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) Barnhart to about 1378, in ''Piers Plowman''.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, “to make firm, establish”, is from 1303.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Senses of steadfastness and of things settled came first; the physical senses are recorded later in the OED, “not shaking” from 1593, “securely fixed” from 1597 and “of solid texture, not yielding” from 1611.^(OED 1989) Hoad dates “fixed, immovable” to the 14th century and “stable, not yielding” to the 15th.^(Hoad 1986) “Healthy, robust”, as in [[infirm]], is from 1577 and probably obsolete.^(OED 1989) The intransitive verb, “to become firm”, is from 1879, and ''firm up'' from 1956.^(Etymonline) Of prices and markets, the verb means to recover or steady.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1303 – verb, to establish.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1374 – adjective, fixed, settled.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1377 – of a person, steadfast.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 16th century – spelling ''firm''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1611 – of solid texture.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1879 – verb, to become firm.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1956 – ''firm up''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Solid; not yielding to pressure.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Securely fixed in place; [[stable]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Showing [[determination]]; resolute.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Fixed and definite: ''a firm offer''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Steady in value: ''firm prices''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make or become firm, often with ''up''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To recover from a decline in price.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Firmly, resolutely: ''stand firm''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[firmly]]

+ * [[firmness]]

+ * [[firm up]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|business}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1574|origins=la firmus}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The business is [[bor|it|firma|t=signature]] or Spanish firma,^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)^(MWU 2024) from [[la-med|firma]],^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|firmāre|t=to make firm]], in Late Latin “to confirm by signature”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|la|firmus|t=strong, stable]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart traces the business sense to [[de|Firma|t=a business, name of a business]], from Italian firma.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A signature: 1574, now obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From a signature the word came to mean the name or style under which a business is carried on, from the mid-18th century,^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986) and then the business itself.^(Cresswell 2021) A partnership carrying on a business is recorded in 1744.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) Sarcastic use of a group of people seen as associated is from before 1797.^(OED 1989) A ''long firm'' is a group of swindlers who obtain goods on credit and never pay, from 1869.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1574 – a signature.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1744 – a business partnership.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1869 – ''long firm''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[business]] or company, especially a [[partnership]] of two or more people.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(British slang)'' A gang of criminals.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[farm]]

+ * [[throne]]

+ * [[affirm]]

+ * [[confirm]]

+ * [[infirmary]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Lincolnshire, Sussex and Somerset dialect a ''firm'' was a bench or form.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}