Where does “certan” come from?
certan (Old Occitan) comes from Vulgar Latin certanus, from Latin certus, from Proto-Indo-European krey- — to sift, separate, divide.
certan (Old Occitan): sure; certain
Ancestry of “certan”, 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 |