certain

certain
certain c.1300, "determined, fixed," from O.Fr. certain "reliable, sure, assured" (12c.), from V.L. *certanus, from L. certus "sure, fixed, settled, determined," originally a variant pp. of cernere "to distinguish, decide," lit. "to sift, separate" (see CRISIS (Cf. crisis)). Certainer, certainest were common to c.1750, but have fallen from proper use for some reason.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • certain — certain, aine [ sɛrtɛ̃, ɛn ] adj. et pron. • certan 1160; lat. pop. °certanus, de certus « assuré » I ♦ Adj. A ♦ Après le nom 1 ♦ (Possibilité) (Sujet chose) Qui est effectif sans laisser aucun doute, perçu directement ou établi par des preuves,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Certain — Cer tain, a. [F. certain, fr. (assumed) LL. certanus, fr. L. certus determined, fixed, certain, orig. p. p. of cernere to perceive, decide, determine; akin to Gr. ? to decide, separate, and to E. concern, critic, crime, riddle a sieve, rinse, v.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • certain — I (fixed) adjective absolute, assured, attested, certified, changeless, conclusive, confident, confirmed, decided, decisive, definite, determinate, determined, firm, guaranteed, incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable,… …   Law dictionary

  • Certain — Cer tain, n. 1. Certainty. [Obs.] Gower. [1913 Webster] 2. A certain number or quantity. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Certain — war ein französischer Hersteller von Automobilen. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Unternehmensgeschichte 2 Fahrzeuge 3 Literatur 4 Weblinks …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Certain — Cer tain, adv. Certainly. [Obs.] Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • CERTAIN — AINE. adj. Indubitable, vrai, sûr. En ce sens, il ne se dit que Des choses. Cela est certain. La nouvelle est certaine. Faire un rapport certain. J ai eu un avis certain, j ai reçu l avis certain que... Je sais cela de science certaine. Preuve… …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 7eme edition (1835)

  • certain — /serr tn/, adj. 1. free from doubt or reservation; confident; sure: I am certain he will come. 2. destined; sure to happen (usually fol. by an infinitive): He is certain to be there. 3. inevitable; bound to come: They realized then that war was… …   Universalium

  • certain — I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo French, from Vulgar Latin *certanus, from Latin certus, from past participle of cernere to sift, discern, decide; akin to Greek krinein to separate, decide, judge, Old Irish criathar sieve Date:… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • certain — See: FOR SURE or FOR CERTAIN …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • certain — See: FOR SURE or FOR CERTAIN …   Dictionary of American idioms

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”