firm

See also: Firm.

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /fɜɹm/, [fɝm]

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fɜːm/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)m

Etymology 1

From German Firma (“business, name of business”), from Italian firma (“signature”), from firmare (“to sign”), from Latin firmare (“to make firm, to confirm (by signature)”), from firmus (“firm, stable”).

Noun

firm (plural firms)

1. (Britain, business) A business partnership; the name under which it trades.
2. (business, economics) A business enterprise, however organized.
   • 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.

Translations

business or company

• Arabic: شَرِكَة تِجَارِيَّة‏‎ f (šarika tijāriyya)
• Bulgarian: фирма (bg) f (firma)
• Catalan: firma (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 企業 (zh), 企业 (zh) (qǐyè), 事務所 (zh), 事务所 (zh) (shìwùsuǒ)

• Czech: firma (cs) f
• Finnish: yritys (fi)
• German: Firma (de) f
• Greek: εταιρία (el) f (etairía), επιχείρηση (el) f (epicheírisi)
• Hebrew: חברה‏‎ (he) f (khevrá), עסק‏‎ m (éseq)
• Icelandic: firma (is) f, fyrirtæki (is) n

• Irish: comhlacht m, gnólacht m
• Manx: colught m
• Polish: firma (pl) f
• Portuguese: firma (pt) f
• Russian: фи́рма (ru) f (fírma)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: твртка, фирма f

  Roman: tvrtka (sh) f, firma (sh) f

• Slovene: podjetje n, firma f
• Tagalog: bahay-kalakal
• Volapük: fiam (vo)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Danish: ^{(please verify)} firma (da) n

Etymology 2

Middle English ferme, from Old French ferme, from Latin firmus (“strong, steady”).

Adjective

firm (comparative firmer, superlative firmest)

1. steadfast, secure, hard (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

   • He was firm that selling his company would a good choice and didn't let anyone talk him out of it.
   • 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. solid, rigid (material state)

   firm flesh; firm muscles, firm wood; firm land (i.e. not soft and marshy)

Derived terms

Derived terms

• firmish
• firmly
• firmness

• firm up
• firmware

Translations

steadfast, secure (position)

• Armenian: անսասան (hy) (ansasan)
• Bulgarian: стабилен (bg) (stabilen)
• Catalan: ferm (ca)
• Estonian: kindel (et)
• Finnish: vakaa (fi), vankka (fi)
• Greek: σταθερός (el) m (statherós), στιβαρός (el) m (stivarós)
• Hebrew: יציב‏‎ (he) m (yatsív)
• Indonesian: teguh (id)
• Irish: diongbháilte

• Latgalian: styngrys
• Latin: firmus m
• Latvian: stingrs
• Portuguese: firme (pt)
• Scottish Gaelic: cunbhalach, seasmhach
• Slovene: čvrst
• Spanish: firme (es)
• Sundanese: keyeng (su)

fixed (in opinions)

• Bulgarian: твърд (bg) (tvǎrd), неотстъпчив (bg) (neotstǎpčiv)
• Catalan: ferm (ca)
• Czech: nepoddajný
• Estonian: veendunud
• Finnish: vakuuttunut
• Greek: αμετακίνητος (el) m (ametakínitos), ακράδαντος (el) m (akrádantos)
• Hebrew: יציב‏‎ (he) m (yatsív)

• Italian: ferreo (it)
• Latin: firmus
• Latvian: stingrs
• Portuguese: firme (pt)
• Scottish Gaelic: seasmhach
• Sundanese: keyeng (su)

solid, rigid (material state)

• Bulgarian: твърд (bg) (tvǎrd), корав (bg) (korav)
• Catalan: ferm (ca)
• Czech: tvrdý (cs), pevný (cs)
• Finnish: vankka (fi), luja (fi), tukeva (fi)
• German: fest (de)
• Greek: στέρεος (el) m (stéreos), στερεός (el) m (stereós), γερός (el) m (gerós)
• Hebrew: קשיח‏‎ m (kashíah), צפיד‏‎ m (tsafíd)

• Latin: firmus
• Latvian: stings, stingrs
• Portuguese: firme (pt)
• Slovene: trd (sl), čvrst
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: kšuty

• Spanish: firme (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Norman: ^{(please verify)} fèrme (Jersey)

Verb

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, Britain, 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.

Translations

to make firm or strong

• Bulgarian: втвърдявам (bg) (vtvǎrdjavam)
• Czech: upevnit
• Finnish: lujittaa (fi)
• Greek: σταθεροποιώ (el) (statheropoió)

• Portuguese: firmar (pt)
• Slovene: utrditi, učvrstiti
• Spanish: afirmar (es)

to fix securely

• Bulgarian: закрепвам (bg) (zakrepvam), фиксирам (bg) (fiksiram)
• Finnish: varmistaa (fi), kiinnittää (fi) lujasti (fi)
• Greek: στερεώνω (el) (stereóno)

• Portuguese: firmar (pt)
• Slovene: utrditi, učvrstiti

to solidify

• Bulgarian: втвърдявам (bg) (vtvǎrdjavam)
• Finnish: lujittaa (fi)

• Greek: στερεώνω (el) (stereóno)
• Slovene: utrditi

to become firm

• Bulgarian: втвърдявам се (vtvǎrdjavam se)
• Czech: ztvrdnout

• Finnish: lujittua
• Greek: σταθεροποιούμαι (el) (statheropoioúmai), στεριώνω (el) (sterióno)

to improve after decline

• Finnish: vahvistua

• Greek: σταθεροποιούμαι (el) (statheropoioúmai)

Australian, betting: to shorten — see shorten

Further reading

• Firm in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.

Anagrams

• FRIM, fMRI, frim

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Polish

Noun

firm f

1. genitive plural of firma