terra firma

[ fur-muh ]
See synonyms for terra firma on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. firm or solid earth; dry land (as opposed to water or air).

Origin of terra firma

1
Borrowed into English from Latin around 1595–1605

Words Nearby terra firma

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How to use terra firma in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for terra firma

terra firma

/ (ˈfɜːmə) /


noun
  1. the solid earth; firm ground

Origin of terra firma

1
C17: from Latin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for terra firma

terra firma

[ (ter-uh fur-muh) ]


Dry land, as opposed to the sea: “After our stormy voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, we were relieved to set foot on terra firma.” From Latin, meaning “firm (or solid) ground.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.