different between positive vs firm

English

Alternative forms

• +ve (abbreviation)

Etymology

From Old French positif, from Latin positivus, from the past participle stem of ponere (“to place”). Compare posit.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p?z??t?v/
• (General American) enPR: p?z??-t?v, IPA^(key): /?p?z??t?v/
• Rhymes: -?z?t?v
• Hyphenation (UK): pos?it?ive, (US): pos?i?tive

Adjective

positive (comparative more positive, superlative most positive)

1. Not negative or neutral.
2. (law) Formally laid down. [from the 14th c.]
   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie

     In laws, that which is natural bindeth universally; that which is positive, not so.

3. Stated definitively and without qualification. [from the 16th c.]

   • Positive words, that he would not bear arms against King Edward’s son.

4. Fully assured in opinion. [from the 17th c.]

5. (mathematics) Of number, greater than zero. [from the 18th c.]

   Antonym: nonpositive

6. Characterized by constructiveness or influence for the better.
7. Overconfident, dogmatic.
8. (chiefly philosophy) Actual, real, concrete, not theoretical or speculative.
   • 1597 Francis Bacon, The Colours of Good and Evil

     The flower or blossom is a a positive good.

9. (physics) Having more protons than electrons.

   Antonym: negative

10. (grammar) Describing the primary sense of an adjective, adverb or noun; not comparative, superlative, augmentative nor diminutive.

11. Derived from an object by itself; not dependent on changing circumstances or relations; absolute.

12. Characterized by the existence or presence of distinguishing qualities or features, rather than by their absence.

14. Characterized by the presence of features which support a hypothesis.

15. (photography) Of a visual image, true to the original in light, shade and colour values.

16. Favorable, desirable by those interested or invested in that which is being judged.

17. Wholly what is expressed; colloquially downright, entire, outright.

18. Optimistic. [from the 20th c.]

19. (chemistry) electropositive
20. (chemistry) basic; metallic; not acid; opposed to negative, and said of metals, bases, and basic radicals.
21. (slang) HIV positive.
    • quoted in 2013, William I. Johnston, HIV-Negative: How the Uninfected Are Affected by AIDS (page 145)

      We certainly told him at that time that I was negative. We talked about transmission. We told him we don't do anything that would cause me to become positive.

22. (New Age jargon) Good, desirable, healthful, pleasant, enjoyable; (often precedes 'energy', 'thought', 'feeling' or 'emotion').
    • 2009, Christopher Johns, Becoming a Reflective Practitioner, John Wiley & Sons, p. 15

      Negative feelings can be worked through and their energy converted into positive energy... In crisis, normal patterns of self-organization fail, resulting in anxiety (negative energy). Being open systems, people can exchange this energy with the environment and create positive energy for taking action...

Synonyms

• (steadfast in one's knowledge or belief): certain, sure, wis

Antonyms

• (doubtful): uncertain, unsure
• (spiritual quality): bad, evil, nongood

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

positive (plural positives)

1. A thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.

   • rating Positives by their Privatives

2. A favourable point or characteristic.
3. Something having a positive value in physics, such as an electric charge.
4. (grammar) A degree of comparison of adjectives and adverbs.
5. (grammar) An adjective or adverb in the positive degree.
6. (photography) A positive image; one that displays true colors and shades, as opposed to a negative.
7. The positive plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.
8. A positive result of a test.

Translations

Danish

Adjective

positive

1. inflection of positiv:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /po.zi.tiv/
• Homophones: positivent, positives

Adjective

positive

1. feminine singular of positif

Verb

positive

1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of positiver
2. second-person singular imperative of positiver

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

positive

1. inflection of positiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

positive

1. feminine plural of positivo

Anagrams

• sopitevi

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /po.si?ti?.u?e/, [p?s???t?i?u??]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /po.si?ti.ve/, [p?s?i?t?i?v?]

Adjective

posit?ve

1. vocative masculine singular of posit?vus

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

positive

1. definite singular of positiv
2. plural of positiv

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

positive

1. definite singular of positiv
2. plural of positiv

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /posi?tibe/, [po.si?t?i.??e]

Verb

positive

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of positivar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of positivar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of positivar.
4. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of positivar.

Swedish

Adjective

positive

1. absolute definite natural masculine form of positiv.

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /f??m/, [f?m]
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /f??m/
• Rhymes: -??(?)m

Etymology 1

From Italian firma (“signature”), from firmare (“to sign”), from Latin firmare (“to make firm, to confirm (by signature)”), from firmus (“firm, stable”). The contemporary sense developed in the 18th century simultaneously with German Firma (“business, name of business”). There are conflicting statements in the literature as to which of the two languages influenced which.

Noun

firm (plural firms)

1. (Britain, business) A business partnership; the name under which it trades.
2. (business, economics) A business enterprise, however organized.
3. (slang) A criminal gang, especially based around football hooliganism.

Derived terms

• The Firm

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English ferme, from Old French ferme, from Latin firmus (“strong, steady”). Doublet of dharma.

Adjective

firm (comparative firmer, superlative firmest)

1. Steadfast, secure, solid (in position)

2. Fixed (in opinion)
   • He was firm that selling his company would a good choice and didn't let anyone talk him out of it.
3. Durable, rigid (material state)

   firm flesh; firm muscles, firm wood; firm land (i.e. not soft and marshy)

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

firm (third-person singular simple present firms, present participle firming, simple past and past participle firmed)

1. (transitive) To make firm or strong; fix securely.
2. (transitive) To make compact or resistant to pressure; solidify.
3. (intransitive) To become firm; stabilise.
4. (intransitive) To improve after decline.
5. (intransitive, Australia) To shorten (of betting odds).
6. (transitive, Britain, slang) To select (a higher education institution) as one's preferred choice, so as to enrol automatically if one's grades match the conditional offer.

Translations

Further reading

• Firm in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• FRIM, fMRI, frim

German

Etymology

From Latin firmus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /f??m/

Adjective

firm (comparative firmer, superlative am firmsten)

1. (somewhat dated) experienced, well versed

Declension

Further reading

• “firm” in Duden online

Polish

Noun

firm f

1. genitive plural of firma

Zoogocho Zapotec

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish firma.

Noun

firm

1. signature

Derived terms

• chgo?o firm
• cho?o firm

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish firme.

Adjective

firm

1. firm, fixed

References

• Long C., Rebecca; Cruz M., Sofronio (2000) Diccionario zapoteco de San Bartolomé Zoogocho, Oaxaca (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 38)?^[2] (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Coyoacán, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., pages 220