Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1720, 1792
[0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
FIRMANCE, n. Confinement, imprisonment.Sc. 1720 R. Wodrow Sufferings II. ii. §. 13:
Three men in firmance for the robbery. Sc. 1792 A. Steel Records Annan (1933) 128:
The said Alexander Roxburgh shall detain all and any person, who shall be committed a prisoner to him as Jailor aforesaid in sure Ward, Firmance and Captivity within the Prison of the said Burgh.
[O.Sc. fermance, 1493, firmance, 1497, id., O.Fr. fermance, an enclosure, from fermer, to shut.]
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Firmance n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/snd00088768>
