certain

adj

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”).

1. Sure in one's mind, positive; absolutely confident in the truth of something.

   “I was certain of my decision.”

   “[…] 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. Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.

   “Now that more experiments have been run, the theory is certain and the argument is settled.”

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

3. Sure to happen, inevitable; assured.

   “It is certain that Spain will reach the finals. / Spain is now certain to reach the finals. / Spain is now certain of a place in the finals.”

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

4. Unfailing; infallible.

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

5. Fixed; regular; determinate.

   “at certain intervals”

   “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.”

6. Particular and definite, but unspecified or unnamed; used to introduce someone or something without going into further detail.

   “Every wine has a certain distinctive character which sets it apart from all others.”

   “Each morning, she would see a certain man rush past her window on his way to work.”

7. 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.

   “I would have been here on time, but a certain someone lost the car keys!”

8. Named but not previously mentioned.

   “Looking inside the cover, they learned that the book had once belonged to a certain R. Jones.”

   “About 140 years ago, for example, a certain Hsü Kuang-ming established an ancestral estate in Wanluan consisting of ten hectares. The trust was specifically set aside to provide for his own worship after death, and access to its profits was to be enjoyed only by his descendants.”

9. Used before the name of someone famous that people are expected to know.

   “Since the last British government to make such a proposal was that of a certain Margaret Thatcher, it might not seem unreasonable.”

10. Determined; resolved.

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

det

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”).

1. Having been determined but not specified.

   “Certain people are good at running.”

   “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.””

name

1. A surname.

pron

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”).

1. Unnamed or undescribed members (of).

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

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