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assure

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /əˈʃʊɹ/, /əˈʃɝ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English assuren, borrowed from Old French aseürer (“to reassure, render sure”), asseurer (modern French assurer),[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *assēcūrāre, from Latin ad-, to, and sēcūrus, safe (see secure).[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To reassure or give confidence to, to make safe, and to pledge: about 1375, in Chaucer's Anelida and Arcite, in Barnhart, the late 14th century in Etymonline.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

To betroth (1393) and to make sure the possession of property (1572) are obsolete senses.[6] To make safe against risks, to insure, is from about 1385,[6] now especially of life insurance in Britain.[6][7] To render safe or secure from attack is from 1413,[6] and to make an event certain, to ensure, from 1622.[6] Assurance is from about 1385, in Chaucer.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1375 – to reassure.[2]
  • c. 1385 – to insure.[6]
  • 1393 – to betroth.[6]
  • 1413 – to make safe.[6]
  • 1622 – to ensure.[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To tell positively so as to remove doubt.
  2. To make someone feel sure; to convince or reassure.
  3. To make certain; to ensure.
  4. (chiefly British) To insure, especially a life.

Word family

  • assurable
  • assurer

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins