Where does “ascertain” come from?
Ascertain comes from Middle English acerteynen, from Old French acertener, combining the prefix a- (from Latin ad-) with Old French certener, ultimately from Latin certus meaning "settled" or "determined."
ascertain (English): To find out definitely; to discover or establish;...
Definitions
- To find out definitely; to discover or establish;...
Ancestry of “ascertain”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | acerteynen | — |
| 2 | Old French | acertener | to assure; to make sure of, to make certain of |
| 3 | Old French | certain | certain; sure |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | certanus | certain |
| 5 | Latin | certus | certain; fixed, settled, firm; resolved,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | krey- | to sift, separate, divide |
Words derived from “ascertain”