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Stead vs Firm - What's the difference?

stead | firm |

As nouns the difference between stead and firm

is that stead is (label) a place, or spot, in general while firm is (uk|business) a business partnership; the name under which it trades.

As verbs the difference between stead and firm

is that stead is to help; to support; to benefit; to assist while firm is to make firm or strong; fix securely.

As an adjective firm is

steadfast, secure, hard (in position).

stead

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • (label) A place, or spot, in general.
  • *1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faery Queene , II:
  • *:For he ne wonneth in one certaine stead , / But restlesse walketh all the world around.
  • (label) A place where a person normally rests; a seat.
  • *1633 , P. Fletcher, Purple Island :
  • *:There now the hart, fearlesse of greyhound, feeds, / And loving pelican in safety breeds; / There shrieking satyres fill the people's emptie steads .
  • (label) A specific place or point on a body or other surface.
  • *, Bk.VII:
  • *:Thus they fought two houres& in many stedys they were wounded.
  • (label) An inhabited place; a settlement, city, town etc.
  • (label) An estate, a property with its grounds; a farm.
  • *1889 , H. Rider Haggard, Allan's Wife :
  • *:But of course I could not do this by myself, so I took a Hottentot—a very clever man when he was not drunk—who lived on the stead , into my confidence.
  • (label) The frame on which a bed is laid; a bedstead.
  • *(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • *:The genial bed / Sallow the feet, the borders, and the stead .
  • *1818 , Jane Austen, Persuasion :
  • *:She was so wretched and so vehement, complained so much of injustice in being expected to go away instead of Anne; Anne, who was nothing to Louisa, while she was her sister, and had the best right to stay in Henrietta's stead !
  • *2011 , "Kin selection", The Economist , 31 March:
  • *:Had Daniel Ortega not got himself illegally on to this year’s ballot to seek a third term, his wife might have run in his stead .
  • Figuratively, an emotional or circumstantial "place" having specified advantages, qualities etc. (now only in phrases).
  • *2010 , Dan van der Vat, The Guardian , 19 September:
  • *:Though small and delicate-looking, she gave an impression of intense earnestness and latent toughness, qualities that stood her in good stead when she dared to challenge the most intrusive communist society in eastern Europe.
  • Derived terms

    * bedstead * homestead * in good stead * in one's stead * instead * sunstead * workstead

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To help; to support; to benefit; to assist.
  • * 1610 , , act 1 scene 2
  • Some food we had and some fresh water that / A noble Neapolitan, Gonzalo, / Out of his charity,—who being then appointed / Master of this design,—did give us, with / Rich garments, linens, stuffs, and necessaries, / Which since have steaded much: [...]
  • To fill place of.
  • Anagrams

    * (l), (l), (l), (l), (l)

    firm

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (UK, business) A business partnership; the name under which it trades.
  • (business, economics) A business enterprise, however organized.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-01, volume=407, issue=8838, page=71, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= End of the peer show , passage=Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms.
  • (slang) A criminal gang.
  • Etymology 2

    (etyl) ferme, from (etyl) ferme, from (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (er)
  • steadfast, secure, hard (in position)
  • * It's good to have a firm grip when shaking hands.
  • fixed (in opinion)
  • a firm''' believer; a '''firm''' friend; a '''firm adherent
  • * He was firm that selling his company would a good choice and didn't let anyone talk him out of it.
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2012 , date=May 9 , author=John Percy , title=Birmingham City 2 Blackpool 2 (2-3 on agg): match report , work=the Telegraph citation , page= , passage=With such constant off-field turmoil Hughton’s work has been remarkable and this may have been his last game in charge. West Bromwich Albion, searching for a replacement for Roy Hodgson, are firm admirers.}}
  • solid, rigid (material state)
  • firm''' flesh; '''firm''' muscles, '''firm''' wood; '''firm land (i.e. not soft and marshy)
    Derived terms
    * firm up * firmish * firmly * firmness * firmware

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make firm or strong; fix securely.
  • To make compact or resistant to pressure; solidify.
  • To become firm; stabilise.
  • To improve after decline.
  • Aust. To shorten (of betting odds).
  • Anagrams

    * * ----