sure

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See also: Sure, süre, sûre, and surə

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English sure, seur, sur, from Middle French sur or Old French seür, from Latin sēcūrus (“secure”, literally “carefree”), from sē- (“apart”) + cūra (“care”) (compare Old English orsorg (“carefree”), from or- (“without”) + sorg (“care”)). See cure. Doublet of secure and the now obsolete or dialectal sicker (“certain, safe”).

Displaced native Middle English wis, iwis (“certain, sure”) (from Old English ġewis, ġewiss (“certain, sure”)), Middle English siker (“sure, secure”) (from Old English sicor (“secure, sure”)) with which was cognate.

This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term. When and how did the letter"s" come to be pronounced as "sh"? The OED entry points to a source that may have information on this: E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §185 (iii.) and $388. Perhaps early irregular yod-coalescence?

Pronunciation

Adjective

sure (comparative surer, superlative surest)

  1. Physically secure and certain, non-failing, reliable.
    This investment is a sure thing.   The bailiff had a sure grip on the prisoner's arm.
  2. Certain in one's knowledge or belief.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 58:
      The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.
    • 2008 November 21, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 3, Episode 1:
      Roy: I'm 95% sure it was him.
      Jen: You... you said you were 99% sure.
      Roy: I'm 97% sure it was him.
    He is sure she was lying.
    He was sure of being a finalist.
    They aren't completely sure who will attend.
    You seemed sure that the car was his.
  3. (followed by a to infinitive) Certain to act or be a specified way.
    Be sure to lock the door when you leave.
  4. (obsolete) Free from danger; safe; secure.
  5. (obsolete) Betrothed; engaged to marry.
    • c. 1513-1518 (probably date written, published after 1535) Thomas More, History of King Richard III
      The king was sure to Dame Elizabeth Lucy, and her husband before God.
    • 1632, Richard Brome, The Northern Lass:
      I presum'd […] [that] you had been sure, as fast as faith could bind you, man and wife.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Pages starting with “sure”.

Descendants

  • →⇒ Irish: siúráil
  • → Welsh: siwr

Translations

Adverb

sure (comparative more sure, superlative most sure)

  1. (modal adverb) Without doubt, certainly.
    Sure he's coming! Why wouldn't he?
    "Did you kill that bear yourself?" ―"I sure did!"
    • 1802, Charles Lamb, John Woodvil:
      These high and gusty relishes of life, sure,
      Have no allayings of mortality in them.
  2. (archaic) Without fail, surely.

Usage notes

  • Often proscribed in favor of surely. May be informal.

Interjection

sure

  1. Yes, expressing noncommittal agreement or consent.
    "Do you want me to put this in the garage?" "Sure, go ahead."
  2. Yes; of course.
    "Could you tell me where the washrooms are?" "Sure, they're in the corner over there."
  3. You're welcome; polite response to being thanked.
    "Thanks for helping me with that electrical fault." "Sure. Any time."

Synonyms

Translations

References

  • 1996, T.F. Hoad, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology, Oxford University Press, →ISBN

Anagrams

Danish

Adjective

sure

  1. inflection of sur:
    1. definite singular
    2. plural

Finnish

Verb

sure

  1. inflection of surra:
    1. present active indicative connegative
    2. second-person singular present imperative
    3. second-person singular present active imperative connegative

Anagrams

French

Pronunciation

Adjective

sure

  1. feminine singular of sur

Adjective

sure

  1. Alternative spelling of sûre

Further reading

Anagrams

Italian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsu.re/
  • Rhymes: -ure
  • Hyphenation: sù‧re

Noun

sure

  1. plural of sura

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old French seür, from Latin sēcūrus. Doublet of siker.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sɛu̯r/, /siu̯r/, /suːr/

Adjective

sure (comparative seurer)

  1. safe, protected (not dangerous or harmful)
  2. fortified, well-defended, protected; especially religiously
  3. sure, certain, confirmed
  4. sure-minded (certain of one's intent)
  5. reliable, of good quality
  6. sound, sturdy, hardy
Derived terms
Descendants
References

Adverb

sure

  1. sure, surely, with no doubt or uncertainty
  2. entirely, wholly, fully
  3. While protecting something, with protection
  4. With a tight grasp or grip
Descendants
References

Etymology 2

Verb

sure

  1. Alternative form of suren

Etymology 3

Noun

sure

  1. Alternative form of sire

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Arabic سُورَة (sūra, “chapter of the Qur'an”).

Alternative forms

Noun

sure m (definite singular suren, indefinite plural surer, definite plural surene)

  1. (Islam) a sura (any of the 114 chapters of the Qur'an)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

sure

  1. definite singular of sur
  2. plural of sur

References

Anagrams

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Arabic سُورَة (sūra, “chapter of the Qur'an”).

Alternative forms

Noun

sure m (definite singular suren, indefinite plural surar, definite plural surane)

  1. (Islam) a sura (any of the 114 chapters of the Qur'an)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

sure

  1. definite singular of sur
  2. plural of sur

References

Anagrams

Old English

Etymology

From Germanic, related to sūr (“sour”).

Pronunciation

Noun

sūre f

  1. (botany) sorrel

Descendants

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative forms

Noun

sure

  1. vocative singular of surā (“a class of liquor”)

Romanian

Pronunciation

Adjective

sure

  1. inflection of sur:
    1. genitive/dative feminine singular
    2. nominative/accusative/genitive/dative feminine/neuter plural

Swedish

Adjective

sure

  1. definite natural masculine singular of sur

Turkish

Turkish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia tr

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish سوره (sure), from Arabic سُورَة (sūra).

Pronunciation

Noun

sure (definite accusative sureyi, plural sureler)

  1. sura

Declension

Inflection
Nominative sure
Definite accusative sureyi
Singular Plural
Nominative sure sureler
Definite accusative sureyi sureleri
Dative sureye surelere
Locative surede surelerde
Ablative sureden surelerden
Genitive surenin surelerin
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