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Origin and history of confirm

confirm(v.)

mid-13c., confirmyn, confermen "to ratify, sanction, make valid by a legal act," from Old French confermer (13c., Modern French confirmer) "strengthen, establish, consolidate; affirm by proof or evidence; anoint (a king)," from Latin confirmare "make firm, strengthen, establish," from assimilated form of com "together," but here perhaps an intensive prefix (see con-), + firmare "to strengthen," from firmus "strong, steadfast" (from suffixed form of PIE root *dher- "to hold firmly, support").

From mid-14c. as "make firm or more firm, add strength to;" late 14c. as "make certain or sure, give an assurance of truth, verify." Related: Confirmative; confirmatory.

also from mid-13c.

Entries linking to confirm

confirmation(n.)

c. 1300, confyrmacyoun, the rite whereby baptized persons are admitted to full communion with the Church, from Old French confirmacion (13c.) "strengthening, confirmation; proof; ratification," and directly from Latin confirmationem (nominative confirmatio) "a securing, establishing; an assurance, encouragement," noun of action from past-participle stem of confirmare (see confirm).

Meaning "verification, proof, supporting evidence" is from late 14c. Meaning "act of rendering valid by formal assent of authority" is from c. 1400; sense of "action of making sure, a rendering certain or proving to be true" from early 15c.

confirmed(adj.)

late 14c., of diseases, "firmly established," past-participle adjective from confirm. From mid-15c. as "supported by authority or proof." Of persons, "established in the habit, inveterate," from 1826.

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corroborate
1520s, "to give (legal) confirmation to," from Latin corroboratus, past participle of corroborare "to strengthen, invigorate," from assimilated form of com "with, together," here perhaps "thoroughly" (see com-) + roborare "to make strong," from robur, robus "strength," (see robus
sustain
late 13c., sustenen, transitive, "provide the necessities of life to;" by early 14c. as "give support to (an effort or cause); also in physical senses, "keep from falling or sinking, hold up or upright;" also "give assistance to; keep (a quarrel, etc.) going." It is from the stem
support
late 14c., supporten, "to hold up, prop up, bear the weight of;" also "to aid" someone, "speak in support or advocacy of;" also "put up with, bear without opposition, endure without being overcome, tolerate," from Old French suporter "to bear, endure, sustain, support" (14c.) and
ratify
mid-14c., ratifien, "confirm, approve, sanction, validate by formal act of approval," from Old French ratifier (13c.), from...Medieval Latin ratificare "confirm, approve," literally "fix by reckoning," from Latin ratus "fixed by calculation; determined...
affirm
to decide upon" (c. 1300); "to state positively" (late 14c.), from Old French afermer (Modern French affirmer) "affirm, confirm...; strengthen, consolidate," from Latin affirmare "to make steady, strengthen," figuratively "confirm, corroborate," from...
endorse
c. 1400, endosse "confirm or approve" (a charter, bill, etc.), originally by signing or writing on the back of the document...Figurative sense of "confirm, approve" is recorded in English first in 1847. Related: Endorsed; endorsing....
grant
promise, assurance, vow; agreement, pact; will, wish, pleasure," from creanter "be pleasing; assure, promise, guarantee; confirm...
maintain
c. 1300, maintenen, "to support, uphold, aid;" also "hold fast, keep in possession, preserve from capture or loss," from Anglo-French meintenir (Old French maintenir, 12c.) "keep (a wife), sustain; persevere in, practice continually," from Latin manu tenere "hold in the hand," fr
vouch
early 14c., "summon into court to prove a title," from Anglo-French voucher, Old French vocher "to call, summon, invoke, claim," probably from Gallo-Roman *voticare, metathesis of Latin vocitare "to call to, summon insistently," frequentative of Latin vocare "to call, call upon,
covenant
c. 1300, covenaunt, "mutual compact to do or not do something, a contract," from Old French covenant, convenant "agreement, pact, promise" (12c.), originally present participle of covenir "agree, meet," from Latin convenire "come together, unite; be suitable, agree," from com- "t

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