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certain

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also:Certainandcèrtain

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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FromMiddle Englishcerteyn,certein,certain, borrowed fromOld Frenchcertain, from aVulgar Latin unattested form*certānus, extended form ofLatincertus(“fixed, resolved, certain”), of the same origin ascretus, past participle ofcernere(“to separate, perceive, decide”). Displaced nativeMiddle Englishwis,iwis(“certain, sure”) (fromOld Englishġewiss(“certain, sure”)) and alternativeMiddle English spellingsertane(“some, certain”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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EnglishWikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

certain (comparativemorecertainorcertainer,superlativemostcertainorcertainest)

  1. Sure in one's mind,positive; absolutelyconfident in the truth of something.
    Synonyms:seeThesaurus:certain
    I wascertain of my decision.
    • 1833, [Frederick Marryat], chapter VIII, inPeter Simple. […], volume III, London: Saunders and Otley, […], published1834,→OCLC,page113:
      […] I think, nay, I may say that I'msartain, we'll have a hurricane afore morning. It's not the first time I've cruised in these latitudes.
  2. Not to bedoubted ordenied;established as afact.
    Now that more experiments have been run, the theory iscertain and the argument is settled.
  3. Sure tohappen,inevitable;assured.
    It iscertain that Spain will reach the finals. / Spain is nowcertain to reach the finals. / Spain is nowcertain of a place in the finals.
    Bankruptcy is thecertain outcome of your constant gambling and lending.
  4. Unfailing;infallible.
    • 1702,Richard Mead,Mechanical Account of Poisons:
      I have often wished, that I knew socertain a remedy in any other disease
  5. Fixed;regular;determinate.
    atcertain intervals
  6. Particular anddefinite, butunspecified orunnamed;used to introduce someone or something without going into further detail.
    Every wine has acertain distinctive character which sets it apart from all others.
    Each morning, she would see acertain man rush past her window on his way to work.
  7. (euphemistic, preceded by "a")Used to denote that the speaker is referring to a specific person or thing that they do not want to name directly, implying that the listener shouldinfer the identity of the referent.
    I would have been here on time, but acertain someone lost the car keys!
  8. (preceded by "a", of a person)Named but not previouslymentioned.
    Synonym:one
    Looking inside the cover, they learned that the book had once belonged to acertain R. Jones.
    • 1972, Burton Pasternak, “Kinship”, inKinship & Community in Two Chinese Villages‎[1], Stanford, CA:Stanford University Press,→ISBN,→LCCN,→OCLC,pages75–76:
      About 140 years ago, for example, acertain Hsü Kuang-ming established an ancestral estate in Wanluan consisting of ten hectares. The trust was specifically set aside to provide for his own worship after death, and access to its profits was to be enjoyed only by his descendants.
  9. (preceded by "a", of a person) Used before the name of someone famous that people are expected to know.
    Synonym:one
    Since the last British government to make such a proposal was that of acertain Margaret Thatcher, it might not seem unreasonable.
  10. (obsolete) Determined; resolved.
    • 1667,John Milton, “Book VIII”, inParadise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […];[a]nd by Robert Boulter […];[a]nd Matthias Walker, […],→OCLC; republished asParadise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […],1873,→OCLC, lines952–953:
      However I with thee have fixt my Lot,
      Certain to undergoe like doom[…]

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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sure, positive, not doubting
Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact
Sure to happen, inevitable; assured
not specifically named, indeterminate, indefinite
in reference to a specific person or thing that the speaker does not want to name directly
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Determiner

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certain

  1. Having been determined but not specified.
    Certain people are good at running.

Translations

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having been determined but not specified

Pronoun

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certain

  1. (withof) Unnamed or undescribed members (of).
    Synonym:some
    She mentioned a series of contracts,of whichcertain are not cited.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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Inherited fromOld Frenchcertain, fromVulgar Latin unattested form*certānus, extended form ofLatincertus(“fixed, resolved, certain”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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certain (femininecertaine,masculine pluralcertains,feminine pluralcertaines)

  1. certain,guaranteed(sure, positive)
    sûr etcertain ―(please add an English translation of this usage example)
    une victoirecertaine ―a sure victory
    Il estcertain qu'il viendra.
    It iscertain that he will arrive.
  2. certain(specified, particular)
  3. certain(of indefinite, unknown or simply unmentioned identity, quality or quantity)(prepositive to the noun it modifies, and usually preceded by an indefinite article)
    dans unecertaine mesure ―(please add an English translation of this usage example)
    d'uncertain âge ―(please add an English translation of this usage example)
    uncertain nombre de ―acertain number of
    une certaine femme ―acertain woman

Derived terms

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Related terms

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Determiner

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certain m (femininecertaine,masculine pluralcertains,feminine pluralcertaines)

  1. certain: adetermined butunspecified amount of;some

Usage notes

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  • The pluralscertains andcertaines are generally not used with articles, functioning much like articles themselves. Nevertheless, particularly in circumstantial and objective complements introduced byà[1] (including such compounds asjusqu'à), they are sometimes supported by the indefinite articlede — not to be confused with the prepositionde:
    • 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

References

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  1. ^“certain”, inTrésor de la langue française informatisé[Digitized Treasury of the French Language],2012.

Anagrams

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Old French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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FromVulgar Latin*certānus, derived fromLatincertus.

Adjective

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certain m (oblique and nominative feminine singularcertaine)

  1. certain;sure

Declension

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Casemasculinefeminineneuter
singularsubjectcertainscertainecertain
obliquecertaincertainecertain
pluralsubjectcertaincertainescertain
obliquecertainscertainescertain

Synonyms

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Related terms

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Descendants

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