n.
Pronunciation: ' färm
Function: noun
Usage: often attrib
Etymology: Middle English ferme, from Anglo-French, from fermer to fix, rent, from Latin firmare to make firm, from firmus firm
Date: 14th century
1 obsolete : a sum or due fixed in amount and payable at fixed intervals
2 : a letting out of revenues or taxes for a fixed sum to one authorized to collect and retain them
3 : a district or division of a country leased out for the collection of government revenues
4 : a tract of land devoted to agricultural purposes
5 a : a plot of land devoted to the raising of animals and especially domestic livestock b : a tract of water reserved for the artificial cultivation of some aquatic life form <a fish farm >
6 : a minor-league team (as in baseball) associated with a major-league team as a subsidiary
7 : an area containing a number of similar structures or objects (as radio antennas or storage tanks)