From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Certain \Cer"tain\, a. [F. certain, fr. (assumed) LL. certanus,
fr. L. certus determined, fixed, certain, orig. p. p. of
cernere to perceive, decide, determine; akin to Gr. ? to
decide, separate, and to E. concern, critic, crime, riddle a
sieve, rinse, v.]
1. Assured in mind; having no doubts; free from suspicions
concerning.
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To make her certain of the sad event. --Dryden.
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I myself am certain of you. --Wyclif.
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2. Determined; resolved; -- used with an infinitive.
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However, I with thee have fixed my lot,
Certain to undergo like doom. --Milton.
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3. Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.
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The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof
sure. --Dan. ii. 45.
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4. Actually existing; sure to happen; inevitable.
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Virtue that directs our ways
Through certain dangers to uncertain praise.
--Dryden.
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Death, as the Psalmist saith, is certain to all.
--Shak.
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5. Unfailing; infallible.
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I have often wished that I knew as certain a remedy
for any other distemper. --Mead.
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6. Fixed or stated; regular; determinate.
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The people go out and gather a certain rate every
day. --Ex. xvi. 4.
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7. Not specifically named; indeterminate; indefinite; one or
some; -- sometimes used independenty as a noun, and
meaning certain persons.
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It came to pass when he was in a certain city.
--Luke. v. 12.
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About everything he wrote there was a certain
natural grace und decorum. --Macaulay.
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{For certain}, assuredly.
{Of a certain}, certainly.
Syn: Bound; sure; true; undeniable; unquestionable;
undoubted; plain; indubitable; indisputable;
incontrovertible; unhesitating; undoubting; fixed;
stated.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
for certain
adv 1: definitely or positively (`sure' is sometimes used
informally for `surely'); "the results are surely
encouraging"; "she certainly is a hard worker"; "it's
going to be a good day for sure"; "they are coming, for
certain"; "they thought he had been killed sure enough";
"he'll win sure as shooting"; "they sure smell good";
"sure he'll come" [syn: {surely}, {certainly}, {sure},
{for sure}, {for certain}, {sure enough}, {sure as
shooting}]
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