assurance

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English assuraunce,^[2] borrowed from Old French aseürance (modern French assurance),^[3][4][5] also asseurance,^[6] from aseürer (“to assure”) and -ance.^[3][7] The verb, the source of assure, continues Late Latin adsēcūrō (“to make sure”),^[3][4][8] from ad- (“to”) and sēcūrus (“safe, secure”).^[4][9][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Subjective certainty, confidence or trust: c. 1374, in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde.^[3] A formal pledge or guarantee follows about 1386, in his Man of Law's Tale,^[3][4] and Etymonline gives both senses from the late 14th century.^[9] In Anglo-Norman the noun is recorded from about 1200, for a guarantee, support, safety and confidence.^[6]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century assurance could also mean a betrothal (a1513 to 1641), objective certainty (c. 1485 to 1603) and security (1559).^[3] The sense "self-confidence" appears in 1594,^[3][9] and in the 18th century the word often had a negative tinge of impudence or presumption, recorded from 1699.^[9][3] In law it was the conveyance of property by deed (1583), and in 1622 it is first recorded for insurance against loss.^[3] Collins labels as chiefly British its use for insurance against events that are certain to happen, such as death.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – Anglo-Norman asseurance.^[6]
• c. 1374 – certainty, confidence (Chaucer).^[3]
• c. 1386 – a pledge or guarantee (Chaucer).^[3][4]
• a1513 – a betrothal (obsolete by 1641).^[3]
• 1583 – (law) the conveyance of property.^[3]
• 1594 – self-confidence.^[3][9]
• 1622 – insurance.^[3]
• 1699 – impudence, presumption.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A positive statement or promise meant to give confidence: She gave us her assurance that the work would be finished.
2. Freedom from doubt; certainty.
3. Confidence in oneself; poise.
4. Excessive boldness; impudence.
5. (chiefly British) Insurance against an event certain to happen, such as death.
6. (law) The conveyance of property by deed.

Word family

• preassurance
• reassurance
• self-assurance
• quality assurance

Related words

• assure
• insurance
• sure
• secure

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins