v. t. To stain. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. &unr_; 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

To make her certain of the sad event. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

I myself am certain of you. Wyclif. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Determined; resolved; -- used with an infinitive. [ 1913 Webster ]

However, I with thee have fixed my lot,
Certain to undergo like doom. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact. [ 1913 Webster ]

The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. Dan. ii. 45. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Actually existing; sure to happen; inevitable. [ 1913 Webster ]

Virtue that directs our ways
Through certain dangers to uncertain praise. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Death, as the Psalmist saith, is certain to all. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Unfailing; infallible. [ 1913 Webster ]

I have often wished that I knew as certain a remedy for any other distemper. Mead. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Fixed or stated; regular; determinate. [ 1913 Webster ]

The people go out and gather a certain rate every day. Ex. xvi. 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Not specifically named; indeterminate; indefinite; one or some; -- sometimes used independenty as a noun, and meaning certain persons. [ 1913 Webster ]

It came to pass when he was in a certain city. Luke. v. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

About everything he wrote there was a certain natural grace und decorum. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

For certain, assuredly. --
Of a certain, certainly.

Syn. -- Bound; sure; true; undeniable; unquestionable; undoubted; plain; indubitable; indisputable; incontrovertible; unhesitating; undoubting; fixed; stated. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Certainty. [ Obs. ] Gower. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A certain number or quantity. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Certainly. [ Obs. ] Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Without doubt or question; unquestionably. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Certainty. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Certainties [ OF. certaineté. ] 1. The quality, state, or condition, of being certain. [ 1913 Webster ]

The certainty of punishment is the truest security against crimes. Fisher Ames. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A fact or truth unquestionable established. [ 1913 Webster ]

Certainties are uninteresting and sating. Landor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) Clearness; freedom from ambiguity; lucidity. [ 1913 Webster ]

Of a certainty, certainly. [ 1913 Webster ]