- Certain
- Certain Cer"tain, a. [F. certain, fr. (assumed) LL. certanus,
fr. L. certus determined, fixed, certain, orig. p. p. of
cernere to perceive, decide, determine; akin to Gr. ? to
decide, separate, and to E. concern, critic, crime, riddle a
sieve, rinse, v.]
1. Assured in mind; having no doubts; free from suspicions
concerning.
[1913 Webster]
To make her certain of the sad event. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
I myself am certain of you. --Wyclif. [1913 Webster]
2. Determined; resolved; -- used with an infinitive. [1913 Webster]
However, I with thee have fixed my lot, Certain to undergo like doom. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
3. Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact. [1913 Webster]
The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. --Dan. ii. 45. [1913 Webster]
4. Actually existing; sure to happen; inevitable. [1913 Webster]
Virtue that directs our ways Through certain dangers to uncertain praise. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
Death, as the Psalmist saith, is certain to all. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
5. Unfailing; infallible. [1913 Webster]
I have often wished that I knew as certain a remedy for any other distemper. --Mead. [1913 Webster]
6. Fixed or stated; regular; determinate. [1913 Webster]
The people go out and gather a certain rate every day. --Ex. xvi. 4. [1913 Webster]
7. Not specifically named; indeterminate; indefinite; one or some; -- sometimes used independenty as a noun, and meaning certain persons. [1913 Webster]
It came to pass when he was in a certain city. --Luke. v. 12. [1913 Webster]
About everything he wrote there was a certain natural grace und decorum. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
{For certain}, assuredly.
{Of a certain}, certainly.
Syn: Bound; sure; true; undeniable; unquestionable; undoubted; plain; indubitable; indisputable; incontrovertible; unhesitating; undoubting; fixed; stated. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
