Etymograph

English

firm

Firm comes from Italian firma ‘signature’, from Latin firmo, from firmus ‘strong’, ultimately from PIE *dʰer-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰer-1‘to support’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰermos1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θermos1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fermos1reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfirmus1‘strong’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfirmo2
  7. Italianc. 1300–presentfirmare2‘to sign’
  8. Italianc. 1300–presentfirma2‘signature’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2013firm2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin firmo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English firm
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, End of the peer show: “Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰer-Wiktionary, Latin firmo‘to support’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰermosWiktionary, Latin firmoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θermosWiktionary, Latin firmoreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fermosWiktionary, Latin firmoreconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfirmusWiktionary, Latin firmo‘strong’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfirmoWiktionary, English firm
  7. Italianc. 1300–presentfirmareWiktionary, English firm‘to sign’
  8. Italianc. 1300–presentfirmaWiktionary, English firm‘signature’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2013firmWiktionary, English firm. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, End of the peer show: “Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer…”

The story

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. Other cognates include Russian держать (deržatʹ, “to hold”).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with firm, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- ‘to support’

  • dark ← derk ← deorc ← *derk ← *dʰerg-
  • drug ← drogge ← drogue ← droge ← *drōgi
  • dry ← drye ← drȳġe ← *drūgī ← *drūgiz
  • drama ← δρᾶμα ← δράω ← darýti ← *dʰor-éyeti
  • dare ← durren ← durran ← *durʀan ← *durzaną
  • throne ← trone ← trone ← thronus ← θρόνος
  • drain ← *dreinen ← drēahnian ← *drauhnōn ← *drauhnōną
  • drone ← drounen ← *drunnjan ← *drunjaną
  • feasible ← fesable ← facere ← fere ← *feros
  • drastic ← δραστικός ← δρᾶσις ← δράω ← darýti
  • refrain ← refreynen ← refrener ← refrēnāre ← frēnāre
  • darn ← dernen ← diernan ← *darnijan ← *darnī

59 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of firm

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perkʷ-‘life, force, strength, tree’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*firmō‘means of living, subsistence’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150feorm‘rent, provision, supplies, feast’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500ferma‘rent, tax, tribute, farm’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400ferme‘farm’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ferme
  7. Englishtodayfirm

Another origin of firm

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰer-‘to support’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰermosreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θermosreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fermosreconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfirmus‘stable, firm’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfirmō
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fermen‘to make firm’
  8. Englishtodayfirm

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Today it means

noun A business partnership; the name under which it trades.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “firm”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin firmo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- / firm