certain

certain

See also: Certain and cèrtain

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): /ˈsɜːtn̩/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɝtn̩/, /ˈsɝʔn̩/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈsɝtən/, /ˈsɝtn̩/, /ˈsɝʔn̩/

• Audio (CA)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tən
• Hyphenation: cer‧tain

Adjective

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

1. Sure, positive, not doubting.

   I was certain of my decision.

   Spain is now certain of a place in the finals.

   • 1833, [Frederick Marryat], chapter VIII, in Peter Simple. […], volume III, London: Saunders and Otley, […], published 1834, OCLC 27694940, 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. (obsolete) Determined; resolved.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554, lines 952–953:

     However I with thee have fixt my Lot,
     Certain to undergoe like doom […]

3. Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Daniel 2:45, column 1:

     […] the dreame is certaine, and the interpretation thereof ſure.

4. Actually existing; sure to happen; inevitable.

   Bankruptcy is the certain outcome of your constant gambling and lending.

   • c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, OCLC 55178895, [Act III, scene ii]:

     […] death (as the Pſalmiſt ſaith) is certaine to all, all ſhall die.

   • 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1676, OCLC 228724395, Act II, page 29:

     How vain is Virtue which directs our ways
     Through certain danger to uncertain praiſe!

5. Unfailing; infallible.
   • 1702, Richard Mead, Mechanical Account of Poisons

     I have often wished, that I knew so certain a remedy in any other disease

6. Fixed or stated; regular; determinate.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Exodus 16:4, column 1:

     Then ſaid the Lord vnto Moſes, Behold, I will raine bread from heauen for you: and the people ſhall goe out, and gather a certaine rate euery day, that I may proue them, whether they will walke in my Law, or no.

7. Known but not specifically named; indeterminate; indefinite; one or some; sometimes used independently as a noun, and meaning certain persons; see also "one".
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Luke 5:12, column 1:

     And it came to paſſe, when he was in a certaine citie […]

   • 1856 February​, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “Oliver Goldsmith [from the Encyclopædia Britannica]”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, new edition, London: Longman, Green, Reader, & Dyer, published 1871, OCLC 30956848, page 365:

     About everything that he wrote, serious or sportive, there was a certain natural grace and decorum […]

Synonyms

• (not doubting): See also Thesaurus:certain
• (sure to happen): unavoidable; See also Thesaurus:inevitable

Antonyms

• (not doubting): uncertain
• (sure to happen): impossible, incidental
• (known but not named): particular specific

Derived terms

• certain event
• certainly (adv)
• certainty (n)
• for certain
• make certain
• of a certain
• of a certain age

 

Translations

sure, positive, not doubting

Arabic: أَكِيد‎ (ʾakīd), (said of a person) مُتَأَكِّد‎ (mutaʾakkid) Armenian: հաստատուն (hy) (hastatun) Asturian: ciertu Azerbaijani: əmin Belarusian: упэ́ўнены (upéŭnjeny), пэ́ўны (be) (péŭny) Bulgarian: си́гурен (bg) (síguren), уве́рен (bg) (uvéren) Catalan: cert (ca) Chamicuro: akachelo'ta Chinese: Mandarin: 肯定 (zh) (kěndìng), 確切／确切 (zh) (quèqiè), 一定 (zh) (yīdìng) Czech: jistý (cs) m Danish: sikker (da) c, sikkert (da) n, sikre pl Dutch: zeker (nl) Esperanto: certa Finnish: varma (fi) French: certain (fr) Friulian: ciert, sigûr, positîv Georgian: უეჭველი (ueč̣veli), უდავო (udavo) German: gewiss (de), sicher (de) Greek: βέβαιος (el) m (vévaios) Ancient: ἔμπεδος (émpedos) Hungarian: biztos (hu), bizonyos (hu) Icelandic: viss (is) m, öruggur (is) m Ido: certa (io) Irish: cinnte, dearfa, deimhin Istriot: sierto Italian: certo (it), sicuro (it) m Japanese: 確か (ja) (たしか, tashika), 一定 (ja) (いってい, ittei), 定か (さだか, sadaka), 特定の (ja) (とくていの, tokutei no) Khmer: ជាក់លាក់ (cĕəklĕək) Korean: 확실하다 (ko) (hwaksilhada) Ladin: cert, cërt Latin: certus, fidus Macedonian: сигурен (siguren), уверен (uveren) Maltese: ċert m, ċerta f, ċerti pl Maori: taketake Norwegian: sikker (no), viss (no) Old High German: giwis Oriya: ନିର୍ଦ୍ଦିଷ୍ଟ (or) (nirddiṣṭô) Plautdietsch: wess Polish: pewny (pl) m Portuguese: certo (pt) Romanian: cert (ro), anume (ro), sigur (ro) Russian: уве́ренный (ru) (uvérennyj), (of a fact) определённый (ru) (opredeljónnyj) Sardinian: certu, tzertu, tzeltu Scottish Gaelic: cinnteach, deimhinne Serbo-Croatian: sȉgūran (sh) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: си̏гӯран, у̀верен Roman: sȉgūran (sh), ùveren Sicilian: certu Slovak: istý Slovene: gotov Spanish: cierto (es) Swedish: säker (sv) c, säkert (sv) n, säkra (sv) pl Tetum: tebes Thai: แน่นอน (th) (nɛ̂ɛ-nɔɔn) Turkish: kesin (tr), emin (tr) Ukrainian: упе́внений (upévnenyj), пе́вний (uk) (pévnyj) Venetian: çerto, serto, certo Vietnamese: chắc chắn (vi) Yiddish: זיכער‎ (zikher) Zazaki: emel, qeta

not specifically named, indeterminate, indefinite

Arabic: بَعْض‎ (baʿḍ) Azerbaijani: müəyyən (az) Belarusian: які́сьці (jakísʹci), не́йкі (njéjki), які́сь (jakísʹ) Bulgarian: някакъв (njakakǎv), някой си (njakoj si) Catalan: cert (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 有的 (zh) (yǒu de), 某 (zh) (mǒu) Czech: nějaký (cs) Dutch: zekere (nl), bepaalde (nl) Finnish: eräs (fi), yksi (fi) French: certain (fr), quelconque (fr) German: gewiss (de), irgendein (de) Greek: Ancient: τις (tis) Hungarian: bizonyos (hu), egyes (hu), némely (hu), egyfajta, egynémely Ido: certena (io) Italian: certo (it) m, tale (it) Japanese: ある (ja) (aru) Korean: 어느 (ko) (eoneu), 특정(特定) (ko) (teukjeong) Latin: quīdam Polish: jakiś (pl) Russian: не́который (ru) (nékotoryj), како́й-то (ru) (kakój-to), не́кий (ru) (nékij) Slovak: nejaký Spanish: cierto (es) Swahili: fulani (sw) Turkish: malum (tr), bazı (tr), belli başlı (tr) Ukrainian: яки́йсь (uk) (jakýjsʹ), котри́йсь (kotrýjsʹ), де́який (uk) (déjakyj) Yiddish: געוויס‎ (gevis) Zazaki: delil

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

Translations to be checked

Ido: (please verify) certa (io) (1), (please verify) certena (io) (2) Indonesian: (please verify) tertentu, (please verify) yakin (id), (please verify) merasa pasti Telugu: (please verify) నిశ్చయం (te) (niścayaṁ)

Determiner

certain

1. Having been determined but not specified.

   Certain people are good at running.

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 4293071, page 26:

     One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly-appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.”

Translations

having been determined but not specified

Arabic: مُحَدَّد‎ (muḥaddad) Belarusian: не́йкі m (njéjki) Bulgarian: определен (bg) (opredelen) Catalan: cert (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 某 (zh) (mǒu), 有的 (zh) (yǒude) Czech: jistý (cs) m, určitý (cs) m Dalmatian: ciart Danish: vis (da) c, vist n, visse pl Esperanto: certa Finnish: tietty (fi), muuan (fi), eräät pl French: certain (fr) Galician: certo (gl) Georgian: გარკვეული (garḳveuli) German: bestimmt (de), gewiss (de) Hungarian: bizonyos (hu), egyes (hu), némely (hu) Icelandic: ákveðinn (is) m, viss (is) m Italian: determinato (it) Japanese: ある (ja) (aru), とある (toaru) Latin: quīdam (la) Norwegian: viss (no) m or f, visst (no) n, visse (no) pl, enkelte (no) Portuguese: certo (pt) m Romanian: anumit (ro) Russian: не́который (ru) (nékotoryj), определённый (ru) (opredeljónnyj), не́кий (ru) (nékij) Serbo-Croatian: òdrēđen (sh), nȅkī Spanish: cierto (es) m, cierta (es) f Swedish: viss (sv) c, visst (sv) n, vissa (sv) pl Turkish: belli (tr), malum (tr), belirli (tr), muayyen (tr) Ukrainian: пе́вний (uk) (pévnyj), де́який (uk) (déjakyj) Yiddish: געוויס‎ (gevis) Zazaki: beyan, delil

Pronoun

certain

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

   She mentioned a series of contracts, of which certain are not cited.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Acts 23:12, column 2:

     […] certaine of the Jewes banded together […]

Synonyms

• (unnamed or undescribed members (of)): some

Further reading

• certain at OneLook Dictionary Search
• certain in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• certain in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

Anagrams

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

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French

Etymology

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

• dans une certaine mesure
• sûr et certain

 

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[1] (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

• certainement
• certitude
• incertain

References

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

Anagrams

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

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Old French

Alternative forms

• (Picard dialect) chertain

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *certānus, from Latin certus. Compare Old Italian and Old Spanish certano.

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

• seur

Related terms

• cert

Descendants

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