Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Certain

Certain , adjective

[French certain, from (assumed) Late Latin certanus, from Latin certus determined, fixed, certain, orig. past participle of cernere to perceive, decide, determine; akin to Greek {not transcribed} to decide, separate, and to English concern, critic, crime, riddle a sieve, rinse, v.]

1.
Assured in mind; having no doubts; free from suspicions concerning.
To make her certain of the sad event. — Dryden
I myself am certain of you. — Wyclif
2.
Determined; resolved; -- used with an infinitive.
However, I with thee have fixed my lot, Certain to undergo like doom. — Milton
3.
Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.
The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. — Dan. ii. 45
4.
Actually existing; sure to happen; inevitable.
Virtue that directs our ways Through certain dangers to uncertain praise. — Dryden
Death, as the Psalmist saith, is certain to all. — Shakespeare
5.
Unfailing; infallible.
I have often wished that I knew as certain a remedy for any other distemper. — Mead
6.
Fixed or stated; regular; determinate.
The people go out and gather a certain rate every day. — Ex. xvi. 4
7.
Not specifically named; indeterminate; indefinite; one or some; -- sometimes used independently as a noun, and meaning certain persons.
It came to pass when he was in a certain city. — Luke. v. 12
About everything he wrote there was a certain natural grace und decorum. — Macaulay
Collocations (2)
For certain , assuredly.
Of a certain , certainly.

Certain , noun

1.
Certainty. [Obsolete] — Gower
2.
A certain number or quantity. [Obsolete] — Chaucer

Certain , adverb

Certainly. [Obsolete] — Milton