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”).
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.1833, [Frederick Marryat], chapter VIII, in Peter Simple. […], volume III, London: Saunders and Otley, […], published 1834, →OCLC, page 113:
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.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Daniel 2:45, column 1:
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.
2 more examples
[…]death (as the Pſalmiſt ſaith) is certaine to all, all ſhall die.c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
How vain is Virtue which directs our ways Through certain danger to uncertain praiſe!1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1676, →OCLC, Act II, page 29:
4
Unfailing; infallible.
I have often wished, that I knew so certain a remedy in any other disease1702, Richard Mead, Mechanical Account of Poisons:
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.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 16:4, column 1:
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.
2 more examples
And it came to paſſe, when he was in a certaine citie[…]1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 5:12, column 1:
About everything that he wrote, serious or sportive, there was a certain natural grace and decorum[…]1856 February, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “[Contributions to the Encyclopædia Britannica.] Oliver Goldsmith.”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, new edition, London: Longman, Green, Reader, & Dyer, published 1871, →OCLC, page 365:
7
Euphemistic 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.
Preceded by "a"
I would have been here on time, but a certain someone lost the car keys!
8
Of a person Named but not previously mentioned.
Preceded by "a"
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.1972, Burton Pasternak, “Kinship”, in Kinship & Community in Two Chinese Villages, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, pages 75–76:
9
Of a person Used before the name of someone famous that people are expected to know.
Preceded by "a"
Since the last British government to make such a proposal was that of a certain Margaret Thatcher, it might not seem unreasonable.
However I with thee have fixt my Lot, Certain to undergoe like doom[…]1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 952–953:
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.”1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 26:
certain
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”).
She mentioned a series of contracts, of which certain are not cited.
[…]certaine of the Jewes banded together[…]1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 23:12, column 2: