English
Tierra Firme
Tierra Firme comes from Spanish Tierra Firme, and goes back to firme ‘mainland’.
- Spanishc. 1500–presentfirme‘mainland’
- Spanish, derivedc. 1500–presentTierra Firmeliterally ‘mainland, terra firma’
- Englishearliest quotation 1992same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Spanishc. 1500–presentfirme‘mainland’
- Spanish, derivedc. 1500–presentTierra Firmeliterally ‘mainland, terra firma’
- Englishearliest quotation 1992same form
Earliest quotation: 1992, Edwin Williamson, The Penguin history of Latin America: “As he approached Bogotá, the capital of the most…”
The story
Borrowed from Spanish Tierra Firme (literally “mainland, terra firma”).
Every English word from Spanish firme
Today it means
name A former province of Spain, spanning some of the northern South American mainland.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Spanish firme / Tierra Firme