Certeynte

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic spelling of certainty, meaning a firm assurance that something is true or will happen without any doubt
2. A Middle English form meaning the quality of being sure or confident about a fact, belief, or outcome
3. Older spelling for the state of having full assurance that something is definitely so, with no room for doubt

Etymology: Middle English writers spelled this noun "certeynte," a form that shows its route into English. It came through Anglo-Norman and Old French, where the adjective "certain" took a suffix to become a noun. That suffix descends from Latin "-tas," which turned adjectives into abstract nouns. The adjective underneath is Latin "certus," meaning "settled" or "decided." It is linked to the verb "cernere," "to sift" or "to separate out." The idea of certainty thus began as something sorted out and fixed, and only later came to describe a confident state of mind.