certainty English · revision 39521

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1303, Robert Mannyng's Handlyng Synne|origins=la certus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈsɜːtn̩ti/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈsɝtn̩ti/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|certeinte]],^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016) [[bor|xno|certeinté]],^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) the Anglo-Norman form of [[fro|certaineté]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(ODE 2010) which goes back to [[la-vul|*certānitās]] (compare [[osp|certanedad]]),^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) built on [[m|la-vul|*certānus]], the source of [[certain]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) That form extends [[la|certus|t=settled, sure]], originally a past participle of [[m|la|cernō|t=to distinguish, decide]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(OED 2026) from [[ine-pro|*krey-|t=to sieve]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) In Anglo-Norman the noun is recorded from about 1230, with senses that included certainty, truth, an exact record and a fixed sum of money.^(AND)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An assurance, surety or pledge: 1303, in Robert Mannyng's ''Handlyng Synne'';^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) this sense was obsolete by the early 15th century.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ During the 14th century the word moved from pledges to knowledge: by 1330, in Mannyng's ''Chronicle'', it meant the true state of things, the fact,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and by 1340, in Richard Rolle, both the quality of being objectively certain and the state of feeling sure, without doubt.^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates the subjective sense, full assurance of mind, only to the early 15th century.^(Etymonline) A fixed number or amount was another meaning, from 1431 to 1603.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) Phrases such as ''for a certainty'' and ''of a certainty'', beyond doubt, are found from about 1400.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) The countable use, a thing that is sure, appears in Shakespeare's ''Cymbeline'',^(OED 2026)^(Johnson 1755) and a plural for convictions in Bacon (1605).^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) Johnson (1755) gave two senses, exemption from doubt and "that which is real and fixed".^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1303 – a pledge or surety (obsolete after 1425).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1330 – the true state of a matter, the fact.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1340 – the quality of being certain.^(OED 2026)

+ * a1340 – assurance, absence of doubt.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1400 – ''for a certainty'', beyond doubt.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1431 – a fixed number or quantity (until 1603).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1605 – with a plural, in Bacon.^(OED 2026)

+ * a1616 – a certain fact or thing, in Shakespeare.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The state of being completely sure; firm [[conviction]] without [[doubt]]: ''She spoke with quiet certainty about the result.''^(Collins 2023)^(AHD 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The quality of being definitely true or bound to happen; [[inevitability]].^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A fact, event or outcome that is certain: ''A rise in prices now looks like a certainty.''^(Collins 2023)^(AHD 2024)

+ # ''for a certainty'' (less often ''of'' or ''to a certainty''): without doubt.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[noncertainty]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[certain]]

+ * [[certitude]]

+ * [[ascertain]]

+ * [[certify]]

+ * [[discern]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}