firm

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See also: Firm.

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Italian firma (signature), from firmare (to sign), from Latin firmāre (to make firm, to confirm (by signature)), from firmus (firm, stable). The contemporary sense developed in the 18th century simultaneously with German Firma (business, name of business). There are conflicting statements in the literature as to which of the two languages influenced which. Doublet of dharma and dhamma. Other cognates include Russian держать (deržatʹ, to hold).

Noun[edit]

firm (plural firms)

  1. (UK, business) A business partnership; the name under which it trades.
  2. (business, economics) A business enterprise, however organized.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:enterprise
    • 2013 June 1, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 71:
      Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. [] Banks and credit-card firms are kept out of the picture. Talk to enough people in the field and someone is bound to mention the “democratisation of finance”.
  3. (slang) A criminal gang, especially based around football hooliganism.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English ferme, from Old French ferme, from Latin firmus (strong, steady). Doublet of dharma.

Adjective[edit]

firm (comparative firmer, superlative firmest)

  1. Steadfast, secure, solid (in position)
    It's good to have a firm grip when shaking hands.
  2. Fixed (in opinion).
    a firm believer; a firm friend; a firm adherent
    firm favourites
    • 2012 May 9, John Percy, “Birmingham City 2 Blackpool 2 (2-3 on agg): match report”, in the Telegraph[1]:
      With such constant off-field turmoil Hughton’s work has been remarkable and this may have been his last game in charge. West Bromwich Albion, searching for a replacement for Roy Hodgson, are firm admirers.
  3. Insistent upon something, not accepting dissent.
    He wanted to stay overnight, but I was firm with him and said he had to leave today.
  4. Durable, rigid (material state).
    firm flesh; firm muscles, firm wood; firm land (i.e. not soft and marshy)
  5. Mentally resistant to hurt or stress.
  6. Not frivolous or fallacious; trustworthy; solid; dependable.
    • 1988 April 23, Elizabeth Pincus, “Moving To Meet The Needs Of Women In The Age Of AIDS”, in Gay Community News, page 7:
      Although facilitators of the workshop for lesbians and bisexual women attempted to address the concerns of lesbians, little firm information emerged.
    • 1999, Lucinda Dirven, The Palmyrenes of Dura-Europos:
      None of the Aramaic inscriptions from the Hellenistic and Roman period that are cited in support of this hypothesis that divine messengers are identified with their sender provide any firm proof to this respect.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Adverb[edit]

firm (comparative more firm, superlative most firm)

  1. (now rare) firmly, steadily
Translations[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

From Middle English fermen (to make firm), partly from (either through Old French fermer or directly) Latin firmō, from firmus (firm, adjective), and partly a new formation on the adjective.[1]

Verb[edit]

firm (third-person singular simple present firms, present participle firming, simple past and past participle firmed)

  1. (transitive) To make firm or strong; fix securely.
  2. (transitive) To make compact or resistant to pressure; solidify.
  3. (intransitive) To become firm; stabilise.
  4. (intransitive) To improve after decline.
  5. (intransitive, Australia) To shorten (of betting odds).
  6. (transitive, UK, slang) To select (a higher education institution) as one's preferred choice, so as to enrol automatically if one's grades match the conditional offer.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ James A. H. Murray [et al.], editors (1884–1928), “Firm (fə̄ɹm), v.”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume IV (F–G), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 248, column 3.

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Chinese[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From English firm.

Pronunciation[edit]


Adjective[edit]

firm (Hong Kong Cantonese)

  1. (of muscles) firm; strong; solid
  2. firm; insistent
  3. (neologism) awesome; fantastic; amazing; terrific
  4. (neologism, of relationship between friends) close; intimate
Derived terms[edit]

Noun[edit]

firm

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) firm; business (Classifier: c)

Etymology 2[edit]

Clipping of English confirm.

Pronunciation[edit]


Verb[edit]

firm

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to confirm; to finalize

Adjective[edit]

firm

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) sure; certain
Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

German[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin firmus.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

firm (strong nominative masculine singular firmer, comparative firmer, superlative am firmsten)

  1. (somewhat dated) experienced, well versed
    Synonyms: erfahren, bewandert
    • 1976 March 12, Heidi Dürr, “Kunstkenner per Post?”, in Die Zeit[8]:
      Er, der—laut Prospekt—wie alle Mitarbeiter “eine hohe fachliche Qualifikation” aufweist und die Gewähr dafür bietet, “daß Sie Ihr Studienziel erreichen, ein Kenner antiker Gegenstände zu werden”, ist nach eigener Aussage lediglich Fachmann für Malerei und Graphik. Auf anderen Gebieten sei er gar “nicht so firm”.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • firm” in Duden online
  • firm” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Polish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

firm f

  1. genitive plural of firma

Zoogocho Zapotec[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from Spanish firma.

Noun[edit]

firm

  1. signature
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Borrowed from Spanish firme.

Adjective[edit]

firm

  1. firm, fixed

References[edit]

  • Long C., Rebecca; Cruz M., Sofronio (2000) Diccionario zapoteco de San Bartolomé Zoogocho, Oaxaca (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 38)‎[9] (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Coyoacán, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., pages 220