Pirate "pixilated" GR Part 1 Section 2

[Ghetta Life]

firm (n.)
"business house," 1744, from Ger. Firma "a business, name of a business," 
originally "signature," from It. firma "signature," from firmare "to sign," 
from L. firmare "make firm, affirm, confirm (by signature)," from firmus 
"firm, stable" (see firm (adj.)).

firm (adj.)
c.1378, from O.Fr. ferme, from L. firmus "firm, stable," from PIE base 
*dher(e)- "to hold, support" (cf. Skt. dharmah "custom, law," Gk. thronos 
"seat," Lith. dirzmas "strong," Welsh dir "hard," Breton dir "steel"). The 
return in late 1500s to -i- from M.E. ferme was modeled on the L.

>From: jbor at bigpond.com
>
>Anyway ... it might be interesting to consider the etymology and metonymy 
>of the term "The Firm", as Pynchon uses it here in GR. It's a colloquial 
>reference to a company or corporation in the abstract, and it's most often 
>used to refer to the company by people who are working for that company. 
>There's a connotation of solidity, unity, loyalty. Here, I think Pynchon is 
>using it more broadly to refer to a conglomeration of governments, armed 
>services and corporations. It seems to me that it's meant as an allegory of 
>capitalism.

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