firmness

English

Etymology

firm +‎ -ness

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɝmnəs/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɜːmnəs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: firm‧ness

Noun

firmness (countable and uncountable, plural firmnesses)

1. The state of being firm
   1. security; steadfastness; good grip
   2. strictness; mental strength
      • 1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, chapter 23, in The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, →OCLC:

        But many a man who would have stood within a home dismantled, strong in his passion and design of vengeance, has had the firmness of his nature conquered by the razing of an air–built castle.

      • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volumes (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

        France, for the first time since the death of Charlemagne, was governed by a prince of great firmness and ability.

   3. physical durability; rigidness (of material)

Translations

state of being firm

• Asturian: firmeza f
• Catalan: fermesa (ca) f
• Finnish: lujuus (fi)
• French: fermeté (fr) f
• Galician: firmeza f, rixo m
• German: Stärke (de) f, Festigkeit (de) f
• Greek:

  Ancient: στερέωμα n (steréōma)

• Irish: diongbháilteacht f, seasmhacht f, fostacht f
• Italian: fermezza (it) f
• Latin: firmitās f
• Latvian: cietība f, stingrums m, stingrība f
• Old English: fæstnes f
• Portuguese: firmeza (pt) f
• Russian: твёрдость (ru) f (tvjórdostʹ), про́чность (ru) f (próčnostʹ), реши́мость (ru) f (rešímostʹ)
• Sanskrit: धृति (sa) f (dhṛti)
• Spanish: firmeza (es) f
• Tamil: அருப்பம் (ta) (aruppam)

References

• “firmness”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.