Other forms: affirmed, affirming, affirms
To affirm is to state firmly that something is true. Affirm his innocence, affirm the decision, I affirm it.
In court, to affirm is to promise to tell the truth without swearing on anything, which is open to everybody. On appeal, to affirm a judgment is to uphold it. In ordinary use it is formal assertion. Note that the Latin means to make firm, from firmus.
1verbaffirmTo state firmly that something is true.
“The minister affirmed that the hospital would not be closed.”
2verbupholdTo uphold a decision on appeal.
“The higher court affirmed the original verdict, and the man stayed in prison.”
affirm is a stating.
Latin affirmare is ad plus firmus, firm. Firm, confirm and farm come from the same firmness.
Proto-Indo-European
*dʰer-
Latin
affirmare
Old French
afermer
Middle English
affermen
English, today
affirm
Built from
From Middle English affermen, from Old French afermer, affermer, from Latin affirmare, adfirmare (“to present as fixed, aver, affirm”), from ad (“to”) + firmare (“to make firm”), from firmus (“firm”). by surface analysis, af- + firm.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA