Cĕr'tain, a.
(sēr'tin, 14, 42), a. [Fr. certain, O. Fr. & Pr. certain, It. & O. Sp. certain, from Lat. certus, determined, fixed, certain, originally p. p. of cernere, to perceive, decide, determine.
Sense 1. Assured in mind; having no doubts. “To make her certain of the sad event.” Dryden.
Sense 2. Not to be doubted or denied; established; unquestionable; sure; unfailing.
The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. Dan. ii. 45.
However, I with thee have fixed my lot, Certain to undergo like doom. Milton.
Sense 3. Fixed or stated; regular; determinate.
The people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day. Ex. xvi. 4.
Sense 4. Indeterminate, or not specifically named; one or some; — sometimes used independently as a noun, and meaning certain persons.
About every thing he wrote there was a certain natural grace and decorum. Macaulay.
☞ Certain, in its primary sense, is applied (according to its etymology, from certus) to the state of a person's mind; denoting any one's full and complete conviction; and generally, though not always, implying that there is sufficient ground for such conviction. It was thence easily transferred metonymically to the truths or events respecting which this conviction is rationally entertained. Whately.
Synonyms—Bound; sure; true; undeniable; unquestionable; undoubted; plain; indubitable, indisputable, incontrovertible; competent; unhesitating; undoubting; regular; constant; fixed; stated; determinate. See BOUND.