sure English · revision 1781

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1250 (The Owl and the Nightingale)|origins=la cūra}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃɔː/, /ʃʊə/ ''(UK)''; /ʃʊr/ ''(US)''^(Roach et al. 2011)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|seur]], [[m|enm|sure]],^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|fro|seür|t=safe, secure; dependable]], [[m|fro|sur]] (modern [[fr|sûr]]),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|sēcūrus|t=free from care, untroubled; safe]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(AHD) formed from [[m|la|sē-|t=without, free from]] and [[m|la|cūra|t=care]] (see [[secure]] and [[cure]]).^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1995) Skeat gives [[m|fro|segur]] as the earliest Old French form.^(Skeat 1911) Merriam-Webster derives the Middle English word from the Anglo-French [[xno|seur]].^(MW Collegiate) ''Sure'' and ''secure'' are [[doublet|alt=doublets]], the second borrowed directly from Latin in the 16th century.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Skeat 1911)^(Barnhart 1995) Its pronunciation with sh- developed in the same way as that of [[sugar]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Safe, secure, out of danger (about 1250, in ''The Owl and the Nightingale'').^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From “safe” the word passed to “reliable, fit to be depended on” (about 1300) and to the mental sense “certain, confident” (about 1330 in Barnhart, mid-14th century in Etymonline);^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Hoad distinguishes this subjective certainty (14th century) from the objective sense “certain to be” (15th century).^(Hoad 1986) “Certain to happen” is recorded from the 1560s.^(Etymonline) The original sense “safe” fell out of use in the 17th century.^(SOED 2002)^(MW Collegiate) From 1470 to 1694 ''sure'' also meant “engaged to be married, betrothed”,^(HTOED) as in Sir Thomas More's “The king was sure to dame Elizabeth Lucy”.^(Trench 1859) The adverb “assuredly” dates from before 1325;^(Barnhart 1995) the affirmative ''sure!'' “yes, certainly” is recorded from 1803 in Etymonline but already from 1651 in the Historical Thesaurus, in later use chiefly North American,^(Etymonline)^(HTOED) and the intensive use between subject and verb (''he sure can play'') from 1894.^(HTOED) Phrases include ''make sure'' (14th century), ''sure enough'' (1540s), ''for sure'' (1580s), ''to be sure'' (1650s) and ''sure thing'' (by 1836).^(Etymonline) ''Sure-fire'' “certain to succeed” is American from 1909.^(Barnhart 1988) The colloquial pronunciation ''sho'' is attested by 1871.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1250 – ''seur'', safe, secure.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – reliable, trustworthy.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1325 – as an adverb, assuredly.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1330 – certain, confident.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1470–1694 – betrothed (obsolete).^(HTOED)

+ * 1540s – ''sure enough''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1560s – certain to happen.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1650s – ''to be sure''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1803 – ''sure!'', yes, certainly.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1836 – ''sure thing''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1894 – as an intensifier, certainly (US).^(HTOED)

+ * 1909 – ''sure-fire'' (US).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Free from doubt; [[certain]] or [[confident]]: ''I'm sure I'm right''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Certain to receive, do or happen: ''sure of success'', ''sure to win''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # Impossible to doubt; [[indisputable]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Reliable, trustworthy: ''a sure friend'', ''a sure remedy''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Steady, unfaltering: ''a sure hand''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Careful to do something: ''be sure to lock the door''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' Safe from harm.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(informal, chiefly North America)'' Certainly; surely: ''sure, I'll be there''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ===Interjection===

+ # ''(informal)'' Yes; of course.^(Chambers 2008)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sureness]]

+ * [[cocksure]]

+ * [[oversure]]

+ * [[surefooted]]

+ * [[surety]]

+ * [[unsure]]

+ * [[sure-enough]]

+ * [[sure-fire]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[secure]]

+ * [[assure]]

+ * [[ensure]]

+ * [[insure]]

+ * [[cure]]

+ * [[sugar]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Commentators have often treated the adverb ''sure'' as less than standard and recommended ''surely'';^(MW Collegiate) Merriam-Webster finds that the two have become differentiated, ''sure'' being used in informal contexts and as a simple intensive.^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024) The American Heritage Dictionary notes that ''sure'' is more subjective than ''certain'', which may imply belief based on evidence;^(AHD) ''confident'' suggests reliance on oneself or others, and ''positive'' full, emphatic certainty.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}