terra firma

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin terra firma (“solid land”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌtɛɹ.ə ˈfɜː.mə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌtɛɹ.ə ˈfɝ.mə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

terra firma (uncountable)

1. Continental land, as distinguished from islands.
2. (colloquial) Land, as opposed to water or air.
   • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter VII:

     I […] turned the handle softly, pushed – also softly – and, carrying on into the interior, found myself confronted by a girl in housemaid's costume who put a hand to her throat like somebody in a play and leaped several inches in the direction of the ceiling. “Coo!” she said, having returned to terra firma and taken aboard a spot of breath. “You gave me a start, sir!”

   • 2019 November 13, “Reize – Showdown Character Highlight”, in yachtclubgames.com‎^[1], Yacht Club Games, archived from the original on November 27, 2020, Dive Kick:

     Reize is a floaty character (thanks to that scarf), so this kick can be great for quickly getting back to terra firma or to that game-winning gem!

Synonyms

• (land, as opposed to water or air): dry land, solid ground

Translations

land, as opposed to water or air

• Catalan: terra ferma f
• Dutch: vaste grond m
• Finnish: kuiva maa
• French: terre ferme (fr) f, plancher des vaches (fr) m
• German: fester Boden m
• Italian: terraferma (it) f
• Old Tupi: ybyeté
• Polish: stały ląd m
• Portuguese: terra firme f
• Spanish: tierra firme f
• Swedish: fast mark, terra firma (sv)

Swedish

Etymology

Derived from Latin terra firma (“solid land”).

Noun

terra firma ?

1. (uncommon) terra firma

   Synonym: fast mark

   • 2011 September 29, “Finspång – Trassel på fast mark igen [Finspång – Trassel on solid ground again]”, in SVT Nyheter:

     Katten Trassel, som suttit fast i en talltopp i Finspång i åtta dygn utan vatten och mat, och som Östnytt berättade om i torsdagens sädningar, är nu är nere på Terra Firma igen.

     The cat Trassel, who was stuck in a pine tree in Finspång for eight days without water or food, and which Östnytt told about in Thursday's broadcasts, is now down on Terra Firma again.

   • 1987 August 17, Dagens Nyheter:

     Väl på terra firma läggs ålen på marken och får finna sig i att bli perforerad av den vassa fågelnäbben.

     Once on terra firma, the eel is placed on the ground and allowed to be perforated by the sharp bird's beak.

   • 1889, Fredrik Pereswetoff-Morath, Kadettminnen från det gamla Carlberg, page 105:

     Den reslige Vermlänningen gjorde ett saltomortale, som skulle uppväckt en orangutangs afund och gaf sig, sedan han åter hamnat på terra firma, utaf i det vildaste sken, utan att se sig tillbaka, lemnande både gevär och patronkök efter sig som krigsbyte.

     The towering Vermlander did a somersault that would have aroused the envy of an orangutan and, after he was back on terra firma, set out in the wildest fashion, without looking back, leaving both rifle and cartridge magazine behind as spoils of war.

   • 1775 November 3, Petr. Wetterberg, “Enfaldige Anmärkningar öfver Prof-öfwerſättningen af Förſta Moſis-Bok [Simple Notes on the Professional Translation of Genesis]”, in Götheborgs Allehanda, page 4:

     På 3:dje dagen, då particule ſolidæ blefwo ſkilde från fluidis, Då förſt upkom terra firma, och tillika Haf och Floder.

     On the 3rd day, when particule solide were separated from fluid, Then first appeared terra firma, and also seas and rivers.