Latin: Firmitas
English: Firmness
Etymology
From firmus (“stable, strong, firm; steadfast, true”).
Greek
σταθερότητα
pronunciation (statherótita)
Hellenistic: Constancy, firmness, stability, solidity
standing fast, firm, fixed
(of weather) steady, settled (of speech) calm, deliberate
Vitruvius acknowledged that styles change, but insisted that beneath every iteration must lie firm design. This principle is most clearly understood in stone carving, where structure is unforgiving, and far less obvious to the clay modeler, where form can be endlessly adjusted.
Richard Boyle interpreted Firmitas as firmness—not merely durability, but disciplined structural intent.
