Firma German · revision 35065

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1705|origins=la firmus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Germany: /fɪrma/, [ˈfɪʁ.mä], [ˈfɪɐ̯.mä]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Firma''' ''f'' (genitive Firma, plural Firmen)^(Wiktionary)

+ The plural is ''Firmen'', rarely ''Firmas''.^(DFWB)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|firma|t=binding signature]], borrowed in the early 18th century.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020)^(DFWB)^(Kluge 2011|296) The Italian noun belongs to [[m|it|firmare|t=to sign, to ratify by signature]], from [[la|firmō|t=to make firm, confirm]], which by the 6th century also meant “to validate by signature”, from [[m|la|firmus|t=firm, strong]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DFWB)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) It is related to [[firm]] and to [[en|firm]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Kluge explains it from the history of trade: medieval companies were groups of persons whose name changed when a partner died, and when firms arose that outlived their members, the legally binding signature came to stand for the firm itself.^(Kluge 2011|296) Kluge thinks this happened first in Spain, passing to England, Germany and the Netherlands, while Italian kept the sense “signature”.^(Kluge 2011|296) Pfeifer also takes the German development to follow the English noun, itself apparently from Spanish, while Duden has the Italian word itself come to name the business.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first recorded in 1705, in the sense “the name or signature of a merchant”: ''was für einer firma ich fidiren solle'' “which firm (signature) I should trust”.^(DWB2|9, 529) A merchants' dictionary of 1733 defines it as the handwritten signature, “now and then the business itself”, and ''Firma geben'' as “to give power to sign”.^(DFWB)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Through the 18th century the sense moved from the signature to the registered trade name and then to the business itself.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)^(DFWB) Goethe, writing as a lawyer in 1774, still uses it for the binding signature or trade name of a house.^(Kluge 2011|296) Figuratively, ''unter der Firma'' of someone meant “under the name or banner of”, common in the 19th century, as in Goethe's ''unter seiner Firma''.^(DWB2|9, 529)^(Paul 2002) Kluge notes rival Italian terms used in German too: ''ditta'' (Latin ''dicta'') and ''ragione'', which gave the ''Ragionenbuch'' “commercial register”.^(Kluge 2011|296)

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+ Hungarian took ''firma'' in 1794 for a shop sign, and Romanian ''firmă'' and Turkish ''firma'' come from German.^(LWP)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1705 – First record, “name or signature of a merchant”.^(DWB2|9, 529)

+ * 1733 – Defined as a merchant's signature and occasionally the business.^(DFWB)

+ * 1774 – Goethe uses it for the trade name of a house.^(Kluge 2011|296)

+ * 1794 – Hungarian ''firma'' “shop sign”.^(LWP)

+ * 1869 – It appears in the trade law of the North German Confederation.^(DWB2|9, 529)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|company]], a commercial or industrial business: ''bei einer Firma in Köln arbeiten''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(economics, law)'' The registered [[m|en|trade name]] of a business, abbreviated ''Fa''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(colloquial, derogatory)'' A crew, a lot: ''das ist ja eine feine Firma!''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Duden Fremdwörterbuch 2007)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[firm]]

+ * [[firmieren]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The jocular colloquial ''die Firma dankt'' means “no, thank you”.^(Duden GWDS 1999) In East German slang ''die Firma'' was the state security service.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}