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FRENCH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

ferme.

firm

5 characters2 syllables approx.Français language

Meaning & usage

adj/fɛʁm/

  1. firm

Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle French ferme, from Old French ferm, ferme (“solid”), from Latin firmus (“solid, secure”), from Proto-Italic *fermos, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer-mo-s (“holding”), from the root *dʰer- (“to hold”).

noun/fɛʁm/

  1. roof truss

    feminine
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle French ferme, from Old French ferm, ferme (“solid”), from Latin firmus (“solid, secure”), from Proto-Italic *fermos, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer-mo-s (“holding”), from the root *dʰer- (“to hold”).

noun/fɛʁm/

  1. farm

    feminine
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle French ferme (“farm, farm buildings”), from Old French ferme (“lease for working, rent, farm”), from Medieval Latin ferma, firma (“rent, tax, tribute, farm”). There is debate as to whether Medieval Latin acquires this term from Old English feorm (“rent, provision, supplies, feast”), from Proto-Germanic *fermō, *firhuma- (“means of living, subsistence”), from Proto-Germanic *ferhwō (“life force, body, being”), from Proto-Indo-European *perkʷ- (“life, force, strength, tree”), or from Latin firmus (“solid, secure”), from Proto-Italic *fermos, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer-mo-s (“holding”), from the root *dʰer- (“to hold”). If the former etymology is correct, the term is related to Old English feorh (“life, spirit”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍈𐌿𐍃 (fairƕus, “the world”). Compare also Old English feormehām (“farm”), feormere (“purveyor”).

verb/fɛʁm/

  1. inflection of fermer: first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive

    first-person · form-of · indicative · present · singular · subjunctive · third-person

  2. inflection of fermer: second-person singular imperative

    form-of · imperative · second-person · singular
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle French ferme, from Old French ferm, ferme (“solid”), from Latin firmus (“solid, secure”), from Proto-Italic *fermos, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer-mo-s (“holding”), from the root *dʰer- (“to hold”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.