What does firm mean?

What does firm mean?. The world's largest and most trusted free online dictionary: definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more.

What does firm mean? - The Free Dictionary

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[n] the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments(he worked for a brokerage house)[v] become taut or tauter(Your muscles will firm when you exercise regularly the rope tautened)[a] marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable(firm convi

firm

firm - The Free Dictionary

[n] the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments
(he worked for a brokerage house)

[v] become taut or tauter
(Your muscles will firm when you exercise regularly the rope tautened)

[a] marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
(firm convictions a firm mouth steadfast resolve a man of unbendable perseverence unwavering loyalty)

[r] with resolute determination
(we firmly believed it you must stand firm)

[v] make taut or tauter
(tauten a rope)

[a] not soft or yielding to pressure
(a firm mattress the snow was firm underfoot solid ground)

[a] strong and sure
(a firm grasp gave a strong pull on the rope)

[a] not subject to revision or change
(a firm contract a firm offer)

[a] (of especially a person's physical features) not shaking or trembling
(his voice was firm and confident a firm step)

[a] not liable to fluctuate or especially to fall
(stocks are still firm)

[a] securely established
(holds a firm position as the country's leading poet)

[a] possessing the tone and resiliency of healthy tissue
(firm muscles)

[a] securely fixed in place
(the post was still firm after being hit by the car)

[a] unwavering in devotion to friend or vow or cause
(a firm ally loyal supporters the true-hearted soldier...of Tippecanoe fast friends)

Other vocabulary

f, f clef, f layer, f number, f region, f. d. roosevelt, f. g. banting, f. scott fitzgerald, f.i.s.c., fa, fa la, faa, fab, fabaceae, faberge, fabian, fabian society, fabiana, fabiana imbricata, fabianism, fable, fabled, fabric, fabricate, fabricated, fabrication, fabricator, fabulist, fabulous, fabulously, i, i chronicles, i corinthians, i esdra, i john, i kings, i maccabees, i peter, i samuel, i thessalonians, i timothy, i-beam, i. a. richards, i. f. stone, i. m. pei, i.d., i.e., i.e.d., i.q., i.w.w., ia, iaa, iaea, iago, iamb, iambic, iambus, ian douglas smith, ian fleming, ian lancaster fleming

Dictionary

A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, pronunciations, translation, etc. It is a lexicographical reference that shows inter-relationships among the data.

A broad distinction is made between general and specialized dictionaries. Specialized dictionaries include words in specialist fields, rather than a complete range of words in the language. Lexical items that describe concepts in specific fields are usually called terms instead of words, although there is no consensus whether lexicology and terminology are two different fields of study. In theory, general dictionaries are supposed[citation needed] to be semasiological, mapping word to definition, while specialized dictionaries are supposed to be onomasiological, first identifying concepts and then establishing the terms used to designate them. In practice, the two approaches are used for both types. There are other types of dictionaries that do not fit neatly into the above distinction, for instance bilingual (translation) dictionaries, dictionaries of synonyms (thesauri), and rhyming dictionaries. The word dictionary (unqualified) is usually understood to refer to a general purpose monolingual dictionary.

There is also a contrast between prescriptive or descriptive dictionaries; the former reflect what is seen as correct use of the language while the latter reflect recorded actual use. Stylistic indications (e.g. "informal" or "vulgar") in many modern dictionaries are also considered by some to be less than objectively descriptive.

The first recorded dictionaries date back to Sumerian times around 2300 BCE, in the form of bilingual dictionaries, and the oldest surviving monolingual dictionaries are Chinese dictionaries c. 3rd century BCE. The first purely English alphabetical dictionary was A Table Alphabeticall, written in 1604, and monolingual dictionaries in other languages also began appearing in Europe at around this time. The systematic study of dictionaries as objects of scientific interest arose as a 20th-century enterprise, called lexicography, and largely initiated by Ladislav Zgusta. The birth of the new discipline was not without controversy, with the practical dictionary-makers being sometimes accused by others of having an "astonishing" lack of method and critical-self reflection.