▪ I. certain, a., n., and adv.
(ˈsɜːtɪn, -t(ə)n)
Forms: α. 3–6 certein, -eyn, (eine, -eyne), 4–7 certen, 4–6 certayn(e, 4–7 certaine, 4– certain; (also 4–5 certan, 4–6 -tane, 5–6 certyn, 7 certaint, certien); β. 4–6 serteyn(e, 5–6 serten, 4–5 sertan, -tain, -tayn, 5–6 sertayne, 6 sarteyn, -tayne, 8 dial. sartan.
[a. OF. certain (= Pr. certan, Sp. and It. certano), repr. late L. or Romanic type certān-us, certān-o, f. cert-us determined, settled, sure, orig. pa. pple. of cern-ĕre to decide, determine, etc. The sense-development had taken place already with L. certus. The comparative and superlative, certainer, certainest, are of common occurrence up to the middle of 18th c., but are now seldom used.]
A. adj. I. 1. a. Determined, fixed, settled; not variable or fluctuating; unfailing. To avoid ambiguity from confusion with sense 7, the adj. is sometimes put after its n., as a certain day, a day certain.
certain price: in Foreign Exchanges, the fixed sum in one currency, of which the value is expressed by a varying sum in another.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 378 To a man to bere þeruore a certeyn rente by þe ȝere. 1461–83 Lib. Niger Edw. IV in Ord. R. Househ. (1790) 18 A formal and convenient custume more certayne than was used byfore his tyme. 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. 6 Musicke is included in no certaine bounds. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxvii. §5 That which produceth any certain effect. 1611 Bible 1 Cor. iv. 11 We..haue no certaine dwelling place. 1631 Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 384 The number of them hath not beene certaine in our dayes: at this time there are about sixty and eight..in former ages, they were but twelue. 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. ii. 500 Wandering up and down without certain seat. 1741 T. Robinson Gavelkind v. 79 A Fair or Market with Toll certain. 1817 W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius II. 669 Apartments were taken ‘for 12 months certain, and six months' notice afterwards’. 1845 Stephen Laws Eng. II. 111 Payment of money on a day certain. 1866 Crump Banking vii. 146 Paris is said to give to London the ‘uncertain’ for the ‘certain’ price, when a [varying] number of francs and cents are exchanged for the {pstlg} sterling. |
b. Definite, exact, precise. arch.
| 1393 Gower Conf. III. 143 So that his word be..so certeine, That in him be no double speche. a 1541 Wyatt Let. in Wks. (1861) Introd. 22 The certain time how long I tarried after..I remember not. 1676 Marvell Gen. Counc. Wks. 1875 IV. 152 The answer is now much shorter and certainer. 1736 Butler Anal. i. i. Wks. 1874 I. 21 No means of determining..what is the certain bulk of the living being each man calls himself. 1788 J. Powell Devises (1827) II. 75 It is of more importance that rules of this description should be certain. |
2. a. Sure, unerring, not liable to fail; to be depended upon; wholly trustworthy or reliable.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 12785 To bring fra iohn certan tiþand. c 1314 Guy Warw. (A.) 900 His stede That certeyne was and gode at nede. c 1325 Coer de L. 3028 Rychard bad his men seche For some wys clerk and sertayn leche..For to loke hys uryn. 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. 12 The righter and certainer mark to know him by. 1650 R. Stapylton Strada's Low-C. Warres vii. 40, I have no more, nor no certainer Intelligence then others. 1752 Johnson Rambl. No. 203 ¶2 To repose upon real facts, and certain experience. 1834 M. Somerville Connex. Phys. Sc. xv. (1849) 141 A certain indication of a coming tempest. |
b. Sure to come or follow; inevitable.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 23732 Es nathing certainur þan dede, Ne vncertainner þan es þe tide. 1596 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 24 Fearfull more of shame Then of the certeine perill he stood in. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 29 Those certaine tortures, he had doubtlesse received, had he stood upon his Justification. 1669 Shadwell Royal Sheph. v, Such..Do on themselves the certain'st ruin bring. 1884 Gustafson Found. Death Pref. 6 Truth's laborious but certain advance. |
c. Sure in its operation or effects; ‘unfailing; that always produces the expected effect’ (J.).
| 1636 E. Dacres tr. Machiavel's Disc. Livy II. 593 There is no truer nor certainer way, than to make them doe some foule act against him. a 1754 R. Mead (J.), I have often wished that I knew as certain a remedy for any other distemper. 1771 Lett. Junius lxi. 317 The abuse of a valuable privilege is the certain means to lose it. 1809 Roland Fencing 80 To give any certain directions to deceive the adversary would be impossible. |
3. Established as a truth or fact to be absolutely received, depended, or relied upon; not to be doubted, disputed, or called in question; indubitable, sure.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 2273 Hit semes more sertain, sothely, to me..Hit may negh vs with noy. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Mark xiii. 29 It is muche certayner that that day shall cum, then it is certayne that summer foloweth after wynter. 1605 Shakes. Macb. ii. iv. 15 Duncans Horses, (A thing most strange, and certaine)..Turn'd wilde in nature. 1611 Bible Deut. xiii. 14 Then shalt thou enquire..and..if it be trueth, and the thing certaine, etc. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. iv. xviii. §4 Whatsoever Truth we come to the clear discovery of from the..Contemplation of our own Ideas, will always be certainer to us, than those which are convey'd to us by Traditional Revelation. 1705 S. Clarke Being & Attrib. of God (R.), One of the certainest and most evident truths in the world. 1729 Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 199 It is certain that effects must have a cause. 1761 Hume Hist. Eng. III. xlvi. 13 A fact as certain as it appears incredible. 1856 Dove Logic Chr. Faith Introd. §2. 3 We can conceive nothing more absolutely certain than that we exist. 1877 E. Conder Bas. Faith iv. 175 It appears to me not only conceivable, but probable, if not certain. |
4. Of persons: Fully confident upon the ground of knowledge, or other evidence believed to be infallible; having no doubt; assured; sure (= ‘subjectively certain’). Const. of a thing, that it is so.
morally certain: so sure that one is morally justified in acting upon the conviction.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 77 Þei timbrede not so hye, Ne bouȝte none Borgages, beo ȝe certeyne. 138. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 362 We ben certein þat crist may not axe oþir obedience. 1382 ― Rom. xv. 14, I my silf am certeyn of ȝou, for and ȝe ȝou silf ben ful of loue. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. ii. 57, I know you could not lacke, I am certaine on't. 1645 Earl Glamorgan Let. 28 Nov. in Carte MSS., I am morally certain a total assent from the Nuncio shall be declared to the propositions for peace. 1679 Penn Addr. Prot. ii. 146 A man can never be Certain of that, about which he has not the Liberty of Examining, Understanding, or Judging: Confident (I confess) he may be; but that's quite another thing than being Certain. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St. Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) I. 6 We are certain, at least, of the existence of those beings. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. (1871) II. iv. vii. 148 Besides one is not sure, only morally-certain. 1864 Tennyson Grandmother xxi, I am not always certain if they be alive or dead. |
† 5. Blending senses 1 and 4. Obs. a. Confirmed by experience or practice; well-founded, well-grounded; fully established.
| c 1340 Cursor M. 19507 (Fairf.), Walcande fra stede to stede in mare certain faiþ þen þai ware are. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 180 Whan they ben of the feith certein, They gone to Barbarie ayein. Ibid. III. 303 He taught her till she was certeine Of harpe, citole and of riote. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 159/1 He was certeyn in the doctryne of the gospel. |
† b. Self-determined, resolved; steadfast. (Cf. L. certus mori.) Obs.
| 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 953 However I with thee have fixt my Lot, Certain to undergoe like doom, if Death Consort with thee. 1672 Marvell Corr. ccvii. Wks. 1872–5 II. 408 He doth still continue certain to the former resolutions. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. ii. xxi. §48 The certainer such Determination is, the greater is the Perfection. |
6. By a change of construction, a person or agent is said to be certain to do a thing, when the fact that he will do it is certain. The use thus attaches itself logically to 1, and in such a sentence as ‘the town is certain to be taken’, certain might be referred to that sense.
| 1653 Walton Angler ii. 49 I'l be as certain to make him a good dish of meat, as I was to catch him. 1868 E. Edwards Raleigh I. xxiii. 537 The truth that honest and unselfish labour is just as certain to grow as it is to live. Mod. We are certain to meet him in the course of our rambles. |
II. 7. a. Used to define things which the mind definitely individualizes or particularizes from the general mass, but which may be left without further indentification in description; thus often used to indicate that the speaker does not choose further to identify or specify them: in sing. = a particular, in pl. = some particular, some definite.
Different as this seems to be from sense 1, it is hardly separable from it in a large number of examples: thus, in the first which follows, the hour was quite ‘certain’ or ‘fixed’, but it is not communicated to the reader; to him it remains, so far as his knowledge is concerned, quite indefinite; it may have been, as far as he knows, at any hour; though, as a fact, it was at a particular hour. (The absolute uses are in B 4–6.)
| a 1300 Cursor M. 8933 Ilk dai a certain hore! Þar lighted dun of heuen ture Angels. 138. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 220 How religious men should kepe certayne Articles. 1393 Gower Conf. II. 16 A certain ile, which Paphos Men clepe. 1483 Caxton G.L. 242/1 Saynt domynyk spak to the pryour..of certeyne mater. 1526 Tindale John xi. 1 A certayne man was sicke, named Lazarus. 1536 Wriothesley Chron. (1875) I. 61 In Aprill 1536, certen comyssions were sente into the weste countrye. 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. v. 152 The rootes be..covered with certayne scales. 1600 F. Walker Sp. Mandeville 18 b, Theyr garments are made of a certaine fine woll, like Bombast. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 129 For certaine words he spake against your Grace. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xix. 94 Not every one but Certain men distinguished from the rest. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 173 ¶3 There are certain faces for certain Painters, as well as certain Subjects for certain Poets. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 37 ¶1 A Letter..directed to a certain Lady whom I shall here call by the Name of Leonora. 1744 Berkeley Siris §1 In certain parts of America, Tarwater is made. 1805 Med. Jrnl. XIV. 437 The Reports which certain public associations have circulated. 1856 Ruskin Mod. Paint. III. iv. vi. §1 Everything that is natural is, within certain limits, right. 1875 Jevons Money (1878) 5 If a certain quantity of beef be given for a certain quantity of corn. 1879 M. Arnold Equality, Mixed Ess. 65 Certain races and nations, are on certain lines pre-eminent and representative. 1887 (Police Notice) ‘Whereas certain persons unknown did, on the night of.., feloniously enter’, etc. |
† b. some certain: some particular, some{ddd}which might be particularized. Obs.
| 1561 Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer (1577) T viij b, In case some certayne Circe should tourne into wilde beastes al the French Kings subiectes. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. v. 6 A man is..neuer welcome to a place, till some certain shot be paid. 1599 ― Hen. V, i. i. 87 His true Titles to some certaine Dukedomes, And generally, to the Crowne and Seat of France. 1732 Pope Ess. Man ii. 189 Lust, thro' some certain strainers well refin'd, Is gentle love. |
† c. With pl. n., often (like some) referring to number; usually: Some definitely, some at least, a restricted or limited number of.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 10947 There þai fourmyt a fest..Serten dayes by-dene duly to hold. 1582 G. Martin in Fulke Defence (1843) 229 You abuse the people for certain years with false translations. 1635 N. R. tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. 1 The death of Queen Mary having been certaine hours concealed. 1670 G. H. Hist. Cardinals ii. iii. 192 In Rome..he was certain months in the character of Ambassador. |
d. Of positive yet restricted (or of positive even if restricted) quantity, amount, or degree; of some extent at least.
| 1538 Starkey England 13 Ther ys a certyn equyte and justyce among all natyonys and pepul. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 106 ¶6 His Virtues..are as it were tinged by a certain Extravagance. 1763 F. Brooke Lady Mandeville in Barbauld Brit. Novelists (1820) XXVII. 22 A prodigious passion for people of a certain rank, a phrase of which she is peculiarly fond. Ibid. 63, I knew her rage for title, tinsel, and ‘people of a certain rank’. 1810 G. Rose Diaries (1860) II. 476 Mr. Perceval..found a certain improvement in him. 1845 S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Ref. III. 131 He kept up a certain degree of intercourse..with the Gonfaloniere Capponi. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. 123 The ice is disintegrated to a certain depth. 1875 Jevons Money (1878) 117 The bank makes a certain profit out of the business. |
e. Sometimes euphemistically: Which it is not polite or necessary further to define. a certain age: an age when one is no longer young, but which politeness forbids to be specified too minutely: usually, referring to some age between forty and sixty (mostly said of women). Also, (a woman) of a certain description, i.e. of the demi-monde; in a certain condition, pregnant; a certain disease, venereal disease.
| 1748 Lady Featherstonhaugh in Lady Chatterton Mem. Ld. Gambier (1861) I. ii. 25 Some very handsome ladies of a certain sort, who always make part of his suite. 1754 Connoisseur 28 Nov. 261, I could not help wishing that some middle term was invented between Miss and Mrs. to be adopted, at a certain age, by all females not inclined to matrimony. 1803 J. Porter Thaddeus xxviii, At the epoch, called a certain age, she found herself an old maid. 1803 J. G. Lemaistre Rough Sk. Mod. Paris xiv. 122 Women, too, of a certain description, do not ply for custom. Ibid. xxviii. 232 When I first came here, I supposed that these ladies were of a certain description. 1817 Byron Beppo xxii, She was not old, nor young, not at the years Which certain people call a certain age, Which yet the most uncertain age appears. 1822 ― Juan vi. lxix, A lady of a ‘certain age’, which means Certainly aged. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge i, A very old house, perhaps as old as it claimed to be, and perhaps older, which will sometimes happen with houses of an uncertain, as with ladies of a certain, age. 1882 Howells Out of Question, His feet are set rather wide apart in the fashion of gentlemen approaching a certain weight. 1927 Rev. Eng. Stud. Oct. 433 As instances may serve lavatory, illegal operation, social evil, a certain disease. 1958 B. Nichols Sweet & Twenties viii. 103 ‘Syphilis’ had always been described as ‘a certain disease’, just as an attempt at rape had been described as ‘a certain suggestion’, and the result of the rape on the lady was described as leaving her in ‘a certain condition’. |
f. With a proper name, it implies that the person so indicated is presumed to be unknown except by name = ‘a certain person called’ or ‘calling himself’; hence often conveying a slight shade of disdain.
| 1785 Cowper Let. 5 Feb., A certain lord Archibald Hamilton has hired the house of Mr. Small..for a hunting seat. 1833 Southey Lett. (1856) IV. 348 A certain Benjamin Franklin French writes to me from New Orleans. 1870 L'Estrange Miss Mitford I. v. 139 Mrs. Raggett brought with her a certain Miss Lucy. |
B. quasi-n. or ellipt. What is certain. I. † 1. Fixed, settled, or appointed condition, order, etc.; certainty. Obs.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. vi. 153 It is an vnresonable Religioun þat hath riȝte nouȝte of certeyne. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 251 But every time hath his certain. 1631 T. Powell Tom All Trades 146 Having no such pensions in certaine. |
† 2. a. Certain state of matters, fact, or account; that which may be relied on; certainty. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 27001 Sant paule sais of vr last dai, Es nan mai certain þer-of sai. 1470–85 Malory Arthur (1816) II. 362 That knight that hurt him knew the very certain that he had hurt Sir Launcelot. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon cxliii. 530 He sent out his spyes to knowe the sartayne which waye the emperours nephue shulde come. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. i. 16, That's the certaine of it. 1607 C. Lever in Farr S.P. Jas. I (1848) 169 Honour, beautie, nor desire of golde, Cannot the certaine of their death withhold. |
b. for certain, in certain, etc.: see 7–10 below.
† 3. The state of mental certainty, certitude. Obs.
| 138. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 339 But as God wole of þre þingis, þat we knowun hem not in certein. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 348 I hove In none certein betwene the two. 1470–85 Malory Arthur (1817) II. 290 Than they were at certayne that they were of naturel colours withoute payntynge. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxxxiii. 326 As than they were nat in certayne yf they shulde passe that way. Ibid. (1812) I. 464 It is of certayne that we shall conquere you. |
II. † 4. a. A definite quantity or amount (of). Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 471 Biseching him to lene him a certeyn Of gold. c 1449 Pecock Repr. iii. xiii. 358 He ȝaf a certein of possessioun. 1522 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp., Canterb., Paied for a certen of bryk by the lumpe. 1598 R. Grenewey Tacitus' Germanie iii. (1622) 264 To pay a certaine of corne, or cattell, or apparell. |
† b. ellipt. A fixed or definite sum of money.
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 39 For þes he þam bisouht, to gyf þam a certeyn. 1401 Pol. Poems (1859) II. 81 Ne non suffragies selle for a certeyn bi ȝere. 1505 E.E. Wills (1882) 135 A perpetual serteyn.. to be distribute to xij powre persons on seynt Brices day. 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1596) 180/2 The preests paieng a certeine to the King. |
† 5. a. A definite (restricted) number (of things).
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 547 She to soper come..With a certeyn of her owne men. 1462 J. Daubeney in Paston Lett. 452 II. 102 Ye wolle late me have a serteyn of your bulloks for the vetelyng of the Barge. 1547 in Strype Eccl. Mem. II. ii. App. D 24 A certen of the wysest..men. 1549 Coverdale Erasm. Par. 1 Peter iii. 20 Put of for a certayn of yeares. 1621 Bk. Discip. Ch. Scot. 9 A certaine of the nobilitie were convened. |
† b. Occasionaly without of: cf. A. 7. Obs.
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xiv. 13 A certayne noble knightis..she kept styl about her. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. John 119 b, After I haue taried a certayne dayes among them. |
† c. ellipt. A fixed number of prayers or masses.
| [1431 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 278 His certeyntee [1448 certeyn] of messes.] 1466 Fun. J. Paston in Lett. II. 271 To the said parson for a certeyn unto Mighelmesse next after the said yere day, viiis. viiid. 1496 Will of J. Burgh (Somerset Ho.), I bequeith xxxs. iiijd. for to have a certeyn rehersed in the church. 1849 Rock Ch. of Fathers III. viii. 126. |
† d. ellipt. A restricted number of persons; some. Obs.
| 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 611/1 God chooseth a certayne whome he lyketh. 1541 Paynell Catiline xxvii. 47 They chose out a certayne, whiche shulde besyege Pompeys house. |
6. Closely related to this is the current (though somewhat archaic) use without a, both followed by of and absolutely, which may also be treated as a pronominal or absolute use of sense 7 in A. a. of persons.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 1709 Ector..and certen hym with. 1450 W. Somner in Four C. Eng. Lett. 3 He sente..certyn letters to certyn of his trustid men. 1526 Tindale Acts xii. 1 To vexe certayne [Wyclif sum men] of the congregacion. 1538 Starkey England 54 Polytyke rule..may be other vnder a prynce, commyn conseyl of certayn, or vnder the hole multytude. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. i. iii. 122, I haue mou'd already Some certaine of the Noblest minded Romans. 1611 Bible Pref. 1 Certaine, which would be counted pillars of the State. |
b. of things.
| 1841 Myers Cath. Th. iii. §17. 62 Certain of the Psalms. 1855 Dickens Dorrit iii, Mrs. Clennam dipped certain of the rusks and ate them; while the old woman buttered certain other of the rusks. |
III. Phrases.
7. for certain; formerly (and still dial.) also for a certain: as a certainty, assuredly. [= F. pour certain, Littré.]
| c 1320 Seuyn Sag. (W.) 2901 Sir, for sertayn, That wald I here and that ful fayn. 1534 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) B iij, For certaine al the fruites cometh not togither. 1607 Topsell Serpents 625 It was reported for a certain, that a Viper entring into a Mans mouth, etc. 1611 Bible Jer. xxvi. 15 But know ye for certaine, That, etc. 1646 Cromwell Let. 10 Aug., I hear for certain that Ormond has concluded a peace with the Rebels. 1707 E. Ward Hud. Rediv. (1715) ii. v, He meant the Butcher, for a certain. 1718 Hickes & Nelson J. Kettlewell i. §16. 39 He was for certain a most useful Member. 18.. Southey Roprecht iv, Roprecht for certain is not dead! |
† 8. in certain: in truth, certainly, truly. Obs. [Cf. OF. à certain, Dewes.]
| c 1340 Cursor M. 11577 (Laud), This was þe somme in certayn Of the childryn þat were slayne. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour G iij, For in certayne he hath leyd thre egges. c 1489 ― Sonnes of Aymon i. 52 In certeyn the duke of Aygremounte is ryght myghty. 1493 Petronilla 57 (Pynson), And she fulfylled his byddynge in certeyn Withoute grutchinge of virgynall mekenesse. |
9. of a certain (arch.), formerly of certain: as a matter of certainty, certainly, assuredly. [= OF. de certain, Dewes.] To this may belong Caxton's a certain; but this may be from Fr. (cf.8).
| c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) ii. 229, I know of a certayn. 1488 Caxton Chast. Goddes Chyld. 46 Yf we knew a certen that suche men deyed wythout repentaunce. 1575 Brieff Disc. Troub. Franckford 97 It began to be muttred off certeyne that the Magistrate, etc. 1650 Fuller Pisgah ii. iv. 112 They..who of a certain report, that, etc. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth iv, Of a certain, those whingers are pretty toys. |
C. adv.
1. Certainly, of a truth, assuredly. (Mostly parenthetic = certainly 4.)
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 82 My boke sais certayn, þat he gaf neuer þat rede. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 375 And elles certeyn hadde thei ben to blame. ? a 1400 Arthur 501 Þus worschup god dude certeyn To Englond, þat þo was Bretayn. 1509 Hawes Examp. Virt. x. 191 It brenneth hote lyke fyre certeyn. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. vi. 29 Lorenzo certaine, and my loue indeed. 1704 Rowe Ulyss. iv. i. 1768 She is lost—most certain—gone irrevocable. 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2), Certain, for certainly. ‘He's dead certain’. ‘I'll go to-morrow sure and certain’. Very common. 1872 Schele de Vere Americanisms 450 He's done it sure and certain. |
2. With certainty, surely.
| 1382 Wyclif Acts xxiii. 20 As thei ben to sekinge sum thing certeynere [v.r. and 1388 more certeynly of him]. a 1734 North Lives II. 346 There is no place..in which an ingenious person comes sooner and certainer to preferment, than in the Turkish Court. |
† 3. Emphasizing sooth, true, sure. Obs. or dial.
| a 1500 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 205 Certain sothe. a 1593 H. Smith Wks. (1867) II. 401 Being most undoubted and certain true. 1804 Southey in Robberds Mem. W. Taylor I. 482 You will, I am certain-sure, be well pleased. 1875 Parish Sussex Dial., Certain Sure, the superlative of certainly. |
▪ II. † certain, v. Obs. rare.
[f. prec.: cf. OF. certainer, and ascertain.]
trans. To make certain; to certify. Hence certaining vbl. n.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 26973 Bot if þat it be suilk a thing þat þou wat of na certanyng. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cclxx. 401 He certeyned them how he wolde ryde forthe. |