certain

English Online Dictionary. What means certain‎? What does certain mean?

English

Alternative forms

• certaine (obsolete)
• certayne (archaic)
• certeine (archaic)

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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɜːtən/, /ˈsɜːtn̩/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈsɝtən/, /ˈsɝtn̩/, /ˈsɝʔn̩/
• Hyphenation: cer‧tain
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tən

Adjective

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
2. Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.
3. Sure to happen, inevitable; assured.
4. Unfailing; infallible.
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.
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 should infer the identity of the referent.

8. (preceded by "a", of a person) Named but not previously mentioned.

   Synonym: one
9. (preceded by "a", of a person) Used before the name of someone famous that people are expected to know.

   Synonym: one

10. (obsolete) Determined; resolved.

Synonyms

• (sure to happen): unavoidable; See also Thesaurus:inevitable

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “not doubting”): uncertain
• (antonym(s) of “sure to happen”): impossible, incidental
• (antonym(s) of “known but not named”): particular specific

Derived terms

Translations

Determiner

certain

1. Having been determined but not specified.

Translations

Pronoun

certain

1. (with of) Unnamed or undescribed members (of).

   Synonym: some

Further reading

• “certain”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “certain”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “certain”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Anagrams

• tacrine, nacrite, tricane, Cretian, ant rice, crinate, anticer, Rectina, ceratin, citrean, Catrine, cantier, creatin, tercian

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‿/

Adjective

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

1. certain, guaranteed (sure, positive)

   sûr et certain ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   une victoire certaine ― a sure victory

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 une certaine mesure ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   d’un certain âge ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   un ’’’certain nombre de ― a certain number of

   une certaine femme ― a certain woman

Derived terms

Related terms

• certitude

Determiner

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

1. certain: a determined but unspecified amount of; some

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

References

Anagrams

• carient, centrai, cernait, crainte, criante, écriant, encirât, encrait

Old French

Alternative forms

• chertain (Picardy)

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *certānus, derived from Latin certus.

Adjective

certain m (oblique and nominative feminine singular certaine)

1. certain; sure

Declension

Synonyms

• seur

Related terms

• cert

Descendants

• French: certain
• → Middle English: certeyn
  • English: certain