1876, musical term indicating a pause or hold, Italian, literally "a stop, a pause," from fermare "to fasten, to stop," from fermo "strong, fastened," from Latin firmus "strong; stable" (from suffixed form of PIE root *dher- "to hold firmly, support").
Fergus
ferhoodle
ferial
ferine
Feringhee
fermata
ferment
fermentation
fermium
fern
fern-tickles