certain

EnglishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

certaine (obsolete)
certeine (archaic)

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English certeyn, certein, certain, borrowed from Old French certain, from a Vulgar Latin unattested form *certānus, extended form of Latin certus (“fixed, resolved, certain”), of the same origin as cretus, past participle of cernere (“to separate, perceive, decide”). Displaced native Middle English wis, iwis (“certain, sure”) (from Old English, ġewiss (“certain, sure”) and alternative Middle English spelling sertane (“some, certain”)

PronunciationEdit

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɜːtn̩/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɝtn̩/
(Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈsɝtən/, /ˈsɝtn̩/
Audio (CA)
(file)
Audio (US)
(file)
Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tən
Hyphenation: cer‧tain

AdjectiveEdit

English Wikipedia has an article on:

certain

Wikipedia

certain (comparative more certain, superlative most certain)

Sure, positive, not doubting.
I was certain of my decision.
(obsolete) Determined; resolved.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book 8”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
  However, I with thee have fixed my lot, / Certain to undergo like doom.
Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Daniel 2:45:
  The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
Actually existing; sure to happen; inevitable.
Bankruptcy is the certain outcome of your constant gambling and lending.
- 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe
  How vain is virtue which directs our ways
  Through certain danger to uncertain praise.
- c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene ii]:
  Death, as the Psalmist saith, is certain to all.
Unfailing; infallible.
- (Can we date this quote by Mead and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
  I have often wished that I knew as certain a remedy for any other distemper.
Fixed or stated; regular; determinate.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Exodus 16:4:
  
  The people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day.
Known but not specifically named; indeterminate; indefinite; one or some; sometimes used independently as a noun, and meaning certain persons; see also "one".
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Luke 5:12:
  
  It came to pass when he was in a certain city.
- 1911, Thomas Babington Macaulay, “Goldsmith, Oliver”, in 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica:
  About everything he wrote there was a certain natural grace and decorum.

SynonymsEdit

(not doubting): See also Thesaurus:certain
(sure to happen): unavoidable; See also Thesaurus:inevitable

AntonymsEdit

(not doubting): uncertain
(sure to happen): impossible, incidental
(known but not named): particular specific

Derived termsEdit

certainly (adv)

Related termsEdit

certainty (n)

TranslationsEdit

sure, positive, not doubting

Arabic: أَكِيد‎ (ʾakīd), (said of a person) مُتَأَكِّد‎ (mutaʾakkid)
Armenian: հաստատուն (hy) (hastatun)
Asturian: ciertu
Azerbaijani: əmin
Belarusian: упэ́ўнены (upéŭnjeny), пэ́ўны (be) (péŭny)
Bulgarian: си́гурен (bg) (síguren), уве́рен (bg) (uvéren)
Catalan: cert (ca)
Chamicuro: akachelo'ta
Chinese:
Mandarin: 肯定 (zh) (kěndìng), 確切 (zh), 确切 (zh) (quèqiè), 一定 (zh) (yīdìng)
Czech: jistý (cs) m
Danish: sikker (da) c, sikkert (da) n, sikre pl
Dutch: zeker (nl)
Esperanto: certa
Finnish: varma (fi)
French: certain (fr)
Friulian: ciert, sigûr, positîv
Georgian: უეჭველი (ueč̣veli), უდავო (udavo)
German: gewiss (de), sicher (de)
Greek: βέβαιος (el) m (vévaios)
Ancient: ἔμπεδος (émpedos)
Hungarian: biztos (hu), bizonyos (hu)
Icelandic: viss (is) m, öruggur (is) m
Ido: certa (io)
Irish: cinnte, dearfa, deimhin
Istriot: sierto
Italian: certo (it), sicuro (it) m
Japanese: 確か (ja) (たしか, tashika), 一定 (ja) (いってい, ittei), 定か (さだか, sadaka), 特定の (ja) (とくていの, tokutei no)
Khmer: ជាក់លាក់ (cĕəklĕək)
Korean: 확실하다 (ko) (hwaksilhada)

Ladin: cert, cërt
Latin: certus, fidus
Macedonian: сигурен (siguren), уверен (uveren)
Maori: taketake
Norwegian: sikker (no), viss (no)
Novial: serteni
Oriya: ନିର୍ଦ୍ଦିଷ୍ଟ (or) (nirddiṣṭô)
Polish: pewny (pl) m
Portuguese: certo (pt)
Romanian: cert (ro), anume (ro), sigur (ro)
Russian: уве́ренный (ru) (uvérennyj), (of a fact) определённый (ru) (opredeljónnyj)
Sardinian: certu, tzertu, tzeltu
Scottish Gaelic: cinnteach, deimhinne
Serbo-Croatian: sȉgūran (sh)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: си̏гӯран, у̀верен

Roman: sȉgūran (sh), ùveren
Sicilian: certu
Slovak: istý
Slovene: gotov
Spanish: cierto (es)
Swedish: säker (sv) c, säkert (sv) n, säkra (sv) pl
Thai: แน่นอน (th) (nɛ̂ɛ-nɔɔn)
Turkish: kesin (tr), emin (tr)
Ukrainian: упе́внений (upévnenyj), пе́вний (uk) (pévnyj)
Venetian: çerto, serto, certo
Vietnamese: chắc chắn (vi)
Yiddish: זיכער‎ (zikher)

not specifically named, indeterminate, indefinite

Arabic: بَعْض‎ (baʿḍ)
Azerbaijani: müəyyən (az)
Belarusian: які́сьці (jakísʹci), не́йкі (njéjki), які́сь (jakísʹ)
Bulgarian: някакъв (njakakǎv), някой си (njakoj si)
Catalan: cert (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 有的 (zh) (yǒu de), 某 (zh) (mǒu)
Czech: nějaký (cs)
Dutch: zekere (nl), bepaalde (nl)
Finnish: eräs (fi), yksi (fi)
French: certain (fr), quelconque (fr)
German: gewiss (de), irgendein (de)

Greek:
Ancient: τις (tis)
Hungarian: bizonyos (hu), egyes (hu), némely (hu), egyfajta, egynémely
Ido: certena (io)
Italian: certo (it) m, tale (it)
Japanese: ある (ja) (aru)
Korean: 어떤 (ko) (eotteon)
Polish: jakiś (pl)
Russian: не́который (ru) (nékotoryj), како́й-то (ru) (kakój-to), не́кий (ru) (nékij)
Slovak: nejaký
Spanish: cierto (es)
Swahili: fulani (sw)
Ukrainian: яки́йсь (uk) (jakýjsʹ), котри́йсь (kotrýjsʹ), де́який (uk) (déjakyj)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Ido: certa (1), certena (2)
Indonesian: tertentu, yakin, merasa pasti

Telugu: ^{(please verify)} నిశ్చయం (te) (niścayaṃ)

DeterminerEdit

certain

Having been determined but not specified. The quality of some particular subject or object which is known by the speaker to have been specifically singled out among similar entities of its class.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 3, in The Mirror and the Lamp‎^[1]:
  One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.”
Certain people are good at running.

TranslationsEdit

having been determined but not specified

Arabic: مُحَدَّد‎ (muḥaddad)
Belarusian: не́йкі m (njéjki)
Bulgarian: определен (bg) (opredelen)
Catalan: cert (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 某 (zh) (mǒu), 有的 (zh) (yǒude)
Czech: jistý (cs) m, určitý (cs) m
Dalmatian: ciart
Danish: vis (da) c, vist n, visse pl
Esperanto: certa
Finnish: tietty (fi), muuan (fi), eräät pl
French: certain (fr)
Georgian: გარკვეული (garḳveuli)
German: bestimmt (de), gewiss (de)

Hungarian: bizonyos (hu), egyes (hu), némely (hu)
Icelandic: ákveðinn (is) m, viss (is) m
Japanese: ある (ja) (aru), とある (toaru)
Latin: quīdam (la)
Norwegian: viss (no) m or f, visst (no) n, visse (no) pl, enkelte (no)
Portuguese: certo (pt) m
Romanian: anumit (ro)
Russian: не́который (ru) (nékotoryj), определённый (ru) (opredeljónnyj), не́кий (ru) (nékij)
Serbo-Croatian: òdrēđen (sh), nȅkī
Spanish: cierto (es) m, cierta (es) f
Swedish: viss (sv) c, visst (sv) n, vissa (sv) pl
Turkish: belli (tr), malum (tr), belirli (tr), muayyen (tr)
Ukrainian: пе́вний (uk) (pévnyj), де́який (uk) (déjakyj)

PronounEdit

certain

(with of) Unnamed or undescribed members (of).
There were serious objections to certain of the proposals.
- 1611, Bible (King James Version), Acts xxiii. 12
  Certain of the Jews banded together.

SynonymsEdit

(unnamed or undescribed members (of)): some

NounEdit

certain pl (plural only)

(with "the") Something certain.
- 2011, John Lyons, The Phantom of Chance: From Fortune to Randomness in Seventeenth-Century French Literature‎^[2]:
  Thinking about the uncertain refines our perception of the certain, and generally this takes place in a framework in which the uncertain is the future and the certain is the present.

AnagramsEdit

Cretian, ant rice, cantier, ceratin, creatin, crinate, nacrite, tacrine, tercian

FrenchEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old French certain, from Vulgar Latin unattested form *certānus, extended form of Latin certus (“fixed, resolved, certain”).

PronunciationEdit

IPA^(key): /sɛʁ.tɛ̃/
Audio
(file)

AdjectiveEdit

certain (feminine singular certaine, masculine plural certains, feminine plural certaines)

certain (sure, positive)
Il est certain qu'il viendra.
It is certain that he will arrive.
certain (fixed, determined)
certain (specified, particular)

NounEdit

certain m (plural certains)

certain; certainty

DeterminerEdit

certain

certain: a determined but unspecified amount of ; some
Certaines personnes vont aller.
Some people are going.

Related termsEdit

AnagramsEdit

carient, centrai, cernait, crainte, criante, écriant, encirât, encrait

Old FrenchEdit

Alternative formsEdit

(Picard dialect) chertain

EtymologyEdit

From Vulgar Latin *certānus, from Latin certus. Compare Old Italian and Old Spanish certano.

AdjectiveEdit

certain m (oblique and nominative feminine singular certaine)

certain; sure

DeclensionEdit

Declension of certain

Number	Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Singular	Subject	certains	certaine	certain
Singular	Oblique	certain	certaine	certain
Plural	Subject	certain	certaines	certain
Plural	Oblique	certains	certaines	certain

SynonymsEdit

seur

Related termsEdit

cert

DescendantsEdit

→ Middle English: certeyn
- English: certain
French: certain

certain

Contents

EnglishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

SynonymsEdit

AntonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

Related termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

DeterminerEdit

TranslationsEdit

PronounEdit

SynonymsEdit

NounEdit

Further readingEdit

AnagramsEdit

FrenchEdit

EtymologyEdit

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

NounEdit

DeterminerEdit

Related termsEdit

Further readingEdit

AnagramsEdit

Old FrenchEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

AdjectiveEdit

DeclensionEdit

SynonymsEdit

Related termsEdit

DescendantsEdit