certain

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See also: Certain and cèrtain

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

Adjective

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Wikipedia

certain (comparative more certain or certainer, superlative most certain or certainest)

  1. Sure in one's mind, positive; absolutely confident in the truth of something.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:certain
    I was certain of my decision.
    • 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.
  2. Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.
    Now that more experiments have been run, the theory is certain and the argument is settled.
  3. Sure to happen, inevitable; assured.
    It is certain that Spain will reach the finals. / Spain is now certain to reach the finals. / Spain is now certain of a place in the finals.
    Bankruptcy is the certain outcome of your constant gambling and lending.
  4. Unfailing; infallible.
    • 1702, Richard Mead, Mechanical Account of Poisons:
      I have often wished, that I knew so certain a remedy in any other disease
  5. Fixed; regular; determinate.
    at certain intervals
  6. Particular and definite, but unspecified or unnamed; used to introduce someone or something without going into further detail.
    Every wine has a certain distinctive character which sets it apart from all others.
    Each morning, she would see a certain man rush past her window on his way to work.
  7. (preceded by "a", of a person) Named but not previously mentioned.
    Synonym: one
    Looking inside the cover, they learned that the book had once belonged to a certain R. Jones.
  8. (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 a certain Margaret Thatcher, it might not seem unreasonable.
  9. (obsolete) Determined; resolved.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Determiner

certain

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

Translations

Pronoun

certain

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

Further reading

Anagrams

French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sɛʁ.tɛ̃/, (in laison) /sɛʁ.tɛ.n‿/
  • Audio(file)

Adjective

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

  1. certain, for certain, indubitably
  2. 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
  3. 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.
  4. certain (fixed, determined)
  5. certain (specified, particular)

Derived terms

Noun

certain m (plural certains)

  1. certain; certainty

Determiner

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

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

Usage notes

  • 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 (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 terms

References

  1. ^ “certain”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Anagrams

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *certānus, derived from Latin certus.

Adjective

certain m (oblique and nominative feminine singular certaine)

  1. certain; sure

Declension

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

Synonyms

Related terms

Descendants

  • French: certain
  • → Middle English: certeyn
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