Where does “uncertainty” come from?
Uncertainty derives from Old French uncertainté, from Latin incertus, meaning "not settled or sure," from in- plus certus, the past participle of crescere meaning "to grow" or "to arise."
uncertainty (English): Doubt; the condition of being uncertain or...
Definitions
- Doubt; the condition of being uncertain or...
Ancestry of “uncertainty”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | certainty | The state of being certain; An instance of being... |
| 2 | Middle English | certeynte | surety |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | certeinte | — |
| 4 | Old French | certeinete | — |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | certanitas | — |
| 6 | Latin | certus | certain; fixed, settled, firm; resolved,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | krey- | to sift, separate, divide |