Where does “certain” come from?
certain (Old French) comes from Vulgar Latin certanus, from Latin certus, from Proto-Indo-European krey- — to sift, separate, divide.
certain (Old French): certain; sure
Ancestry of “certain”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Vulgar Latin | certanus | certain |
| 2 | Latin | certus | certain; fixed, settled, firm; resolved,... |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | krey- | to sift, separate, divide |
Words derived from “certain”