certain
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
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/, /ˈsɝʔn̩/
- (Canada) IPA(key): /ˈsɝtən/, /ˈsɝtn̩/, /ˈsɝʔn̩/
Audio (CA) (file) Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tən
- Hyphenation: cer‧tain
AdjectiveEdit
certain (comparative more certain or certainer, superlative most certain or certainest)
- Sure, positive, not doubting.
- I was certain of my decision.
- Spain is now certain of a place in the finals.
- 1833, [Frederick Marryat], chapter VIII, in Peter Simple. […], volume III, London: Saunders and Otley, […], published 1834, →OCLC, page 113:
- […] I think, nay, I may say that I'm sartain, we'll have a hurricane afore morning. It's not the first time I've cruised in these latitudes.
- (obsolete) Determined; resolved.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 952–953:
- However I with thee have fixt my Lot,
Certain to undergoe like doom […]
- Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Daniel 2:45, column 1:
- […] the dreame is certaine, and the interpretation thereof ſure.
- Actually existing; sure to happen; inevitable.
- Bankruptcy is the certain outcome of your constant gambling and lending.
- c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
- […] death (as the Pſalmiſt ſaith) is certaine to all, all ſhall die.
- 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1676, →OCLC, Act II, page 29:
- How vain is Virtue which directs our ways
Through certain danger to uncertain praiſe!
- Unfailing; infallible.
- 1702, Richard Mead, Mechanical Account of Poisons
- I have often wished, that I knew so certain a remedy in any other disease
- 1702, Richard Mead, Mechanical Account of Poisons
- Fixed or stated; regular; determinate.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 16:4, column 1:
- Then ſaid the Lord vnto Moſes, Behold, I will raine bread from heauen for you: and the people ſhall goe out, and gather a certaine rate euery day, that I may proue them, whether they will walke in my Law, or no.
- 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, Luke 5:12, column 1:
- And it came to paſſe, when he was in a certaine citie […]
- 1856 February, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “Oliver Goldsmith [from the Encyclopædia Britannica]”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, new edition, London: Longman, Green, Reader, & Dyer, published 1871, →OCLC, page 365:
- About everything that he wrote, serious or sportive, 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
TranslationsEdit
sure, positive, not doubting
|
not specifically named, indeterminate, indefinite
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
DeterminerEdit
certain
- Having been determined but not specified.
- Certain people are good at running.
- 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 26:
- 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.”
TranslationsEdit
having been determined but not specified
|
PronounEdit
certain
- (with of) Unnamed or undescribed members (of).
- She mentioned a series of contracts, of which certain are not cited.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 23:12, column 2:
- […] certaine of the Jewes banded together […]
SynonymsEdit
- (unnamed or undescribed members (of)): some
Further readingEdit
- certain at OneLook Dictionary Search
- certain in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- certain in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
AnagramsEdit
FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old French certain, from Vulgar Latin unattested form *certānus, extended form of Latin certus (“fixed, resolved, certain”).
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
certain (feminine certaine, masculine plural certains, feminine plural certaines)
- certain, for certain, indubitably
- certain (of indefinite, unknown or simply unmentioned identity, quality or quantity) (prepositive to the noun it modifies, and usually preceded by an indefinite article)
- un certain nombre de ― a certain number of
- une certaine femme ― a certain woman
- certain (sure, positive) (postpositive to the modified noun)
- une victoire certaine ― a sure victory
- Il est certain qu'il viendra.
- It is certain that he will arrive.
- certain (fixed, determined)
- certain (specified, particular)
Derived termsEdit
NounEdit
certain m (plural certains)
DeterminerEdit
certain m (feminine certaine, masculine plural certains, feminine plural certaines)
- certain: a determined but unspecified amount of ; some
- Certaines personnes vont aller.
- Some people are going.
Usage notesEdit
- The plurals certains and certaines are generally not used with articles, functioning much like articles themselves. Nevertheless, particularly in circumstantial and objective complements introduced by à[1] (including such compounds as jusqu'à), they are sometimes supported by the indefinite article de — not to be confused with the preposition de:
- à de certaines heures du matin
- par rapport à de certains pays voisins
- s'avancer jusqu'à de certaines limites
- s'attendre à de certaines conditions
Related termsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ^ “certain”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
AnagramsEdit
Old FrenchEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- chertain (Picard)
EtymologyEdit
From Vulgar Latin *certānus, derived from Latin certus.
AdjectiveEdit
certain m (oblique and nominative feminine singular certaine)
DeclensionEdit
Declension of certain