certain 
[Formerly some was m r;i,i..nally used before certain in 
this Dense with a plural nonii. 
And now, forsooth. takes on lihn to reform 
Xintu- i-i-rtdin edicts, ami some .strait decrees. 
fibnk., 1 Hen. IV., iv. H.| 
3. Some (known but unspecified) : followed 
by of. 
t V/Y.m/ alsu .;/ \ nm-mvii j ..... ts have said. Acts xvii. 28. 
The count of Cifuentes followed, with certain <>/ the 
chivalr.v of M vi!|. . Ircinij. liranada, p. 86. 
4. Established as true or sure; placed beyond 
doubt; positively ascertained and known ; un- 
questionable, ; indisputable. 
Tis most certain your husband's coming. 
.s'/nrf-., M. W. of VV., ill. 3. 
Virtue, that directs our \\a\s 
Through certain dangers to uncertain praise. 
It \*i-i-i-tiin> ttiat. when \lilrat and I'micef were returned 
from Abyssinia, there \\as a missionary of the minor tn;ns 
who arrived in Ethiopia, had an audience of the king, and 
wrote a letter in his name to the pope. 
STUM, Source of the Nile, II. 521. 
Tills is the earliest certain mention of the place. 
E. A. I-'l't'i'lilil ii. \ rlliiT, p. 1,"). 
6. Capable of being depended on ; trust worthy. 
Nothing so certain as your anchors. 
.Milk., W. T., iv. 3. 
\\hatthey say, is certaine : hut an oath they hate no 
lease then perjury. Purchajt, Pilgrimage, p. 145. 
6. Unfailing; unerring; sure; positive: as, a 
certain remedy for rheumatism. 
Such little arts are the certain and infallible tokens of 
a superficial mind. Steele, Taller, Jo. 138. 
7. Assured ; free from doubt regarding : used 
absolutely, or with of, and formerly sometimes 
with on. 
And, brethren, I myself am certain of you, that also ye 
ben full of love. Wyclif, Rom. xv. 14. 
Be certain what you do, sir ; lest your justice 
Prove violence. Shak., W. T., ii. 1. 
I am certain on't. Shak., A. and C., ii. 2. 
A prophet certain of my prophecy. 
Tennyson, Oeraint. 
8. Sure : with an infinitive : as, he is certain to 
be there to-morrow. 
Were it flre, 
And that flre certain to consume this body, 
If Cscsar sent, I would go. 
Beau, and Ft., Valentinian, iv. 2. 
= Syn. 4. Undeniable, unquestionable, undoubted, in- 
dubitable, indisputable, incontrovertible, inevitable. 7. 
Sure, Poititioe, Certain, Confident, etc. (see confident) ; un- 
hesitating, nndoubting. 
Il.t n. 1. A definite but unstated quantity. 
Of unces a certain [a certain number of ounces]. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Canon's Yeoman's Tale, 1. 223. 
2. Certainty. 
Whereof the certaine no man knoweth. 
Goiver, Conf. Amant. (ed. Pauli), I. x. 
In this massacre, about 70 thousand Romans and thlr 
associats in the places above-mention'd, of a certaine, 
lost their lives. Hilton, Hist. Eng., ii. 
3. In the Rom. Cath. Ch., prayers said daily at 
mass for specified persons, as for the members 
of a guild unable to keep a priest of its own, 
but who paid so much to a church to have a 
daily remembrance. Also certainty. 
A certain consisted of saying, for certain persons, every 
day, at or after Mass, those same prayers which by the 
use of Sarum each parish priest was enjoined to put up to 
God, on Sundays, for all souls departed. 
Rock, Church of our fathers, III. I. 127. 
For certain, certainly; of a certainty: now only colloquial: 
as, I do not know/or certain. [A phrase still current. ] 
For certain, 
Tins is of purpose laid by some that hate me. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., v. 2. 
In certain I, with certainty ; with assurance. Chaucer. 
To know in iertayn ho fourged and wrought 
Roial lesigne[n], the noble eastell. 
Rom. of Partenay (E. E. T. S.), Int., 1. 134. 
In good certain*, certainly ; beyond all doubt. 
In good certain, madam, it makes you look most heavenly. 
B. Jonunn, Cynthia's Revels, ii. 1. 
certaint (ser'tan), adi\ [< ME. certain, -tayn, 
etc., adj. as adv.] Certainly; assuredly. 
And elles certeyn were the! to hlame. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., 1. 375. 
Tis certain so ; the Prince woos for himself. 
Shot., Much Ado, ii. 1. 
certainly (ser'tan-li), adv. [< ME. certainly, 
certeinliche, etc. ; < certain + -fy 2 .] With cer- 
tainty ; without doubt or question ; in truth and 
fact; without fail; inevitably; assuredly; un- 
doubtedly ; unquestionably ; of a certainty. 
He said, I will certainly return unto thee. Gen. xviii. 10. 
For certei/nly he that hathe a litille there of upon him, 
it helethe him of the fallynge Evylle. 
Mandetille, Travels, p. 69. 
The discontented Whigs were, not perhaps in number, 
but certainly in ability, experience, and weight, by far 
the most important part of the Opposition. 
Macaulay, William Pitt. 
901 
certainness OVtan-nes), i. Same as certainty. 
certainty (ser'tan'-ti), . ; pi. errtnintii-x (-lr/.). 
[< ME. ci-rtriiili', i'1-rtryiiti; < OF. rrrtttiiirte ( = 
Pr. crrtuni'tnt = OSp. ci-rtnnnluil), < fi-rliiiii, 
certain.] 1. The quality or fact of being cer- 
tain, fixed, determinate, or sure; the posses- 
sion, as by a judgment or proposition, of cer- 
tain marks which place it in the class of true 
propositions ; exemption from failure or lia- 
bility to fail; infallibility; inevitability: as, 
the trrtuinty of an event, or of the success of a 
remedy. 
Nature asxureth ns by never-failing experience, and rea- 
son by infallible demonstration, that inr times upon the 
earth have neither certainty nor durability. 
lialfiiili. Hist. World, I. 54. 
The errtnintii of punishment is the truest security 
against crimes. .1 /</->. 
< Vrtitnile is a mental state: r> fli/i'iiti/ is a quality of 
propositions. J. II. X'-ii-iinni, tirani. of Assent, p. Til. 
2. A clearly established fact, truth, or state ; 
that which is positively ascertained, demon- 
strated, or intuitively known, or which cannot 
be questioned. 
Know for a eertnhitit that the Lord your God will no 
nil ire drive out any of these nations. Josh, xxiii. 1:J. 
I speak from certain//.'*. Shak., Cor., i. 2. 
But I haue little certaintie to say of him. 
1'urcha*, Pilgrimage, p. 81. 
CertaintieM are uninteresting and sating. Landor. 
3. That which is sure to be or occur ; an assured 
event or result ; an unerring forecast. 
An event had happened in the north which had changed 
the whole fortune of the war [the American revolution 1, 
and made the triumph of the Revolution a certainty. 
Lecky, Eng. in 18th Cent., xiv. 
4. Full assurance of mind; exemption from 
doubt; certitude. 
Such sober certainty of waking bliss, 
I never heard till now. Milton, Comus, 1. 263. 
I therefore share Augustine's repugnance to Probabil- 
ity as the sole goal of human truth-search, and believe 
with him that the human reason is destined to attain posi- 
tive indubitable certainty. 
J. Owen, Evenings with Skeptics, I. 358. 
Certainty is not in sensation, though sensation is so con- 
stantly our means of acquiring it. Certainty belongs to 
thought and t thought only. Self-conscious, reflective 
thought is then our ultimate and absolute criterion. 
Mivart, Nature and Thought, p. 46. 
5f. Same as certain, 3. 
The vicarye of the forsayde chirche of seynt Clement 
schal haue iiij. s. and iiij. d. for his certeyntee of messes. 
English Gilds (E.' E. T. S.), p. 278. 
Demonstrative (or derivative) certainty, that which 
is produced by demonstration : opposed to intuitive cer- 
taint y. Empirical certainty, certainty founded on ex- 
perience. Esthetic certainty. See esthetic. Imme- 
diate certainty, the certainty of what is undemonstra- 
ble. Intuitive certainty, certainty depending upon 
intuition. Moral certainty, a probability sufficiently 
strong to justify action upon it : as, there is a moral cer- 
tainty that the sun will rise to-morrow. Principle of 
certainty, in loffic, the formula "A is A," whatever logi- 
cal term A may be ; the principle of identity. Rational 
certainty, certainty founded on reason. Subjective 
certainly, firm confidence in a belief. 
certes (ser'tez), adv. [< ME. certcs, certez, cer- 
tis, certys, < OF. certes, F. certes (prop. fern, pi., 
as in phrase a certes, par certes) = Pr. OSp. cer- 
tas, < L. certas, fern. ace. pi. of certus, certain : 
see cert, certain.'} Certainly ; in truth ; verily. 
But therof cert f a nedid noght haue doute, 
All redy was made a place fill solain. 
Rom. of Partenay (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 863. 
Owe! certes! what I am worthely wroghte with wyr- 
schip, i-wys ! York Plays, p. 4. 
Certes, Madame, ye have great cause of plaint. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. vii. 52. 
Certhia (ser'thi-a), n. [NL., formerly also cer- 
thias, certitius (Gesner, 1555), < Or. ntpBtof, a lit- 
tle bird, the common tree-creeper.] 1. An old 
Linnean genus of birds, of indefinite charac- 
ter, containing many small slender-billed spe- 
cies later referred to different families and or- 
ders. 2. As now restricted, the typical genus 
of the small family Certhiida;. The type is the 
common tree-creeper of Europe, Asia, and 
America, C. familiaris. See creeper, 4 (a). 
Certhidea (ser-thid'e-a), n. [NL. (J. Gould, 
1837), < Certhia + -idea.'} A genus of remark- 
able fringilline birds, peculiar to the Galapagos 
islands, and related to Cactornis, Camarhynchus, 
and Ucospiza. The type-species is C. olivacea. 
Certhiidse (ser-thi'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < Certhia 
+ -idce.~\ A family of tenuirostral oscine pas- 
serine birds, typified by the genus Certhia; the 
creepers, properly so called, it is a small group 
of about a dozen species and four or five genera, falling 
into two sections, commonly called subfamilies, one of 
which, Tichodromince, contains the wall-creepers and some 
others, and the other, Certhiinee, the typical tree-creepers 
of the genus Certhia and its immediate allies. Also written 
Certhiadce. 
certification 
Certhiinae fser-thi-i'ne), n. pi. [NL.. < Crrthia, 
'2, + -inn:} The typical subfamily of the family 
f'rrthiiilir. 
Certhilauda (ser-thi-la'dii), M. [NL. (Swain- 
son, 1827), prop, "Ci-rllniiliiiulii, < Ci-rlliin + 
Attiutla, q. v.] A genus of larks, chiefly Afri- 
can, of the family .llnmlnlir, the type of' which 
is C. capenxis of South Africa. There are se\ 
eral other species. 
Certhiola (ser-thiV.-lii), . [NL. (Sundevall, 
1 K:I">J, dim. of Certhia, q. v.] A genus of lioney- 
creepers, of the family I'li-n-l/iiln; containing 
about 15 species or varieties, chiefly of the West 
Indies. The bill is but little shorter than the head, stout 
at the base, but enr\.-il an. I rapidly tapering to tin acute 
tip; the rictus is without bristles; the wiims are lung; and 
the tail Is short and rounded. ('. rfn.-. ../n i- a leudinu --P<-- 
cies. ('. liii/Hiiiu-iixis, the liahama'n honey. en-cpcr, occurs 
in Florida. 
CerthiomorphaB(ser*thi-o-m6r'fe), ./*/. [XI,., 
< Certhia + Gr. nop^fi, form.] In Simdevall's 
system of classification, the fourth cohort of 
laminiplantar oscine passerine bird*, contain- 
ing the tree-creepers, nuthatches, and some 
others : synonymous with Scamorex of the same 
author. 
certie, certy (ser'ti), n. [Due to ME. eertix, << /- 
tes, certainly : see certes and cert.} A word used 
only in the phrases by my certie, my certie, a 
kind of oath, equivalent to by my faith, by my 
it to ot/ 
oth. [ 
conscience, or in good troth. [Scotch.] 
My certie .' few ever wrought for siccan a day's wage. 
Scoff. 
certificate (ser-tif'i-kat), n. [= F. certificat = 
8p. Pg. certificado = li. certificato, < ML. certifi- 
catus, pp. of certificare, certify : see certify.} 1. 
In a general sense, a written testimony to the 
truth of something ; a paper written in order to 
serve as evidence of a matter of fact. 
I can bring ctrtificates that I behave myself soberly be- 
fore company. Aitdison. 
I wrote a simple certificate, explaining who he was and 
whence he came. B. Taylor, Lands of the Saracen, p. 28. 
2. In a more particular sense, a statement 
written and signed (usually by some public of- 
ficer), but not necessarily nor usually sworn to, 
which is by law made evidence of the truth of 
the facts stated, for all or for certain purposes. 
Such are, for example, a certificate of dixcharye, issued by 
a bankruptcy court to show that a bankrupt has been duly 
released from his debts; a certificate of naturalization, is- 
sued by the proper court to show that the holder has been 
duly made a citizen ; a certificate of retjigtry, issued by a 
custom-house collector to show that a vessel has complied 
with the navigation laws. A certificate is the usual mode 
of ertdencing those acts of ministerial and executive offl- 
cers which are done for the benefit of particular persons 
who may desire to possess evidence of them independently 
of official record. Allotment certificate. See allot- 
ment. Certificate lands, in Pennsylvania, In the period 
succeeding the revolution, lands set apart in the western 
portion of the State which might be bought with the cer- 
tificates which the soldiers of that State in the revolution- 
ary army had received in lieu of pay. Certificate of 
deposit, a written acknowledgment of a bank that it has 
received from the person named a sum of money as a de- 
positCertificate Of Origin, a British custom-house 
document required from importers of cocoa, coftee, spir- 
its, and sugar imported from any British colony, to certi- 
fy the place of production of the commodity in question. 
Continuous-service certificate. See continuous. 
Gold and silver certificates, certificates issued by the 
United States government, circulating as money, on the 
security of gold deposited with the government for the 
purpose, or of silver coin belonging to itself. The smallest 
denomination of the former is twenty dollars, and of the 
latter one dollar. 
certificate (ser-tif'i-kat), r. t. ; pret. and pp. 
certificated, ppr. certificating. [< certificate, n.} 
1. To give a certificate to, as to one who has 
passed an examination ; furnish with a certifi- 
cate: as, to certificate the captain of a vessel. 
[In this sense used chiefly in the past partici- 
ple.] 
By the 12th of Queen Anne, it was further enacted, that 
neither the servants nor apprentices of such certificated 
man should gain any settlement in the parish where he 
resided under such certificate. 
Adam Smith, Wealth of Xations, I. x. 
The teacher, a gentleman, was certificated for one of the 
lower grades. Jour, of Education, XIV. 345. 
2. To attest, certify, or vouch for by certifi- 
cate : as, to certificate a fact. 
certification (ser'ti-fi-ka'shon), . [= F. cer- 
tification = Sp. certificacion"= Pg. certificacuo 
= It. certifications, < ML. certificatio(n-), < cer- 
tificarc, pp. certificates, certify: see certify.} 
1. The act of certifying or informing; notifi- 
cation of a fact. 
Of the whiche ridinge that other knight had certifica- 
tion. Qesta, Romanorum (ed. Herrtage), p. 174. 
He was served with a new order to appear, . . . with 
this certification, that if he appeared not they would pro- 
ceed. Bp. Burnet, Hist. Reformation, ii. 
