firm

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
firm1

▶adjective

• 1 having an unyielding surface or structure.

• 2 solidly in place and stable.

• 3 having steady power or strength: a firm grip.

  ■ unlikely to change; enduring.

• 4 showing strength of character; resolute.

• 5 (of a currency, shares, etc.) having a steady value or price which is more likely to rise than fall.

▶verb

• 1 make stable or unyielding.

• 2 (often firm something up) make (an agreement or plan) explicit and definite.

• 3 (of a price) rise to reach a level considered secure.

▶adverb in a resolute and determined manner.

– phrases
be on firm ground be sure of one's facts or secure in one's position.
a firm hand strict discipline or control.

– derivatives
firmly adverb,
firmness noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. ferme, from L. firmus.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
firm2

▶noun

• 1 a company or business partnership.

• 2 a group of hospital doctors working as a team.

– origin C16 (orig. denoting a signature, later the name under which a firm's business was transacted): from Sp. and Ital. firma, based on L. firmare ‘fix, settle’ (in late L. ‘confirm by signature’), from firmus ‘firm’; cf. farm.