Wiktionary

sure

See also: Sure, süre, sûre, and surə

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English sure, seur, sur, from Middle French sur or Old French seür, from Latin sēcūrus (“secure”, literally “carefree”), from sē- (“apart”) + cūra (“care”) (compare Old English orsorg (“carefree”), from or- (“without”) + sorg (“care”)). See cure. Doublet of secure and the now obsolete or dialectal sicker (“certain, safe”).

Displaced native Middle English wis, iwis (“certain, sure”) (from Old English ġewis, ġewiss (“certain, sure”)), as well as Middle English siker (“sure, secure”) (from Old English sicor (“secure, sure”)) with which it was cognate.

This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term. When and how did the letter"s" come to be pronounced as "sh"? The OED entry points to a source that may have information on this: E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §185 (iii.) and $388. Perhaps early irregular yod-coalescence?

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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sure (comparative surer, superlative surest)

  1. Physically secure and certain, non-failing, reliable.
    This investment is a sure thing.   The bailiff had a sure grip on the prisoner's arm.
    • 1932, Aldous Huxley, Brave New World‎[1], London: Chatto & Windus:
      'In the end,' said Mustapha Mond, 'the Controllers realized that force was no good. The slower but infinitely surer methods of ectogenesis, Neo-Pavlovian conditioning and hypnopædia…'
  2. Certain in one's knowledge or belief.
    • 1827, Thomas De Quincey, On Murder Considered as one of the Fine Arts:
      The very excess of the extravagance, in fact, by suggesting to the reader continually the mere aeriality of the entire speculation, furnishes the surest means of disenchanting him from the horror which might else gather upon his feelings.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 58:
      The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.
    • 2008 November 21, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 3, Episode 1:
      Roy: I'm 95% sure it was him.
      Jen: You... you said you were 99% sure.
      Roy: I'm 97% sure it was him.
    He is sure she was lying.
    He was sure of being a finalist.
    They aren't completely sure who will attend.
    You seemed sure that the car was his.
  3. (followed by a to infinitive) Certain to act or be a specified way.
    Be sure to lock the door when you leave.
  4. (obsolete) Free from danger; safe; secure.
  5. (obsolete) Betrothed; engaged to marry.
    • c. 1513-1518 (probably date written, published after 1535) Thomas More, History of King Richard III
      The king was sure to Dame Elizabeth Lucy, and her husband before God.
    • 1632, Richard Brome, The Northern Lass:
      I presum'd […] [that] you had been sure, as fast as faith could bind you, man and wife.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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English terms starting with “sure”

Descendants

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  • → Kashubian: szur (United States)
  • →⇒ Irish: siúráil
  • → Welsh: siwr

Translations

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Adverb

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sure (comparative more sure, superlative most sure)

  1. (modal adverb) Without doubt, certainly.
    Sure he's coming! Why wouldn't he?
    "Did you kill that bear yourself?" ―"I sure did!"
    • 1802, Charles Lamb, John Woodvil:
      These high and gusty relishes of life, sure,
      Have no allayings of mortality in them.
  2. (archaic) Without fail, surely.

Usage notes

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  • Often proscribed in favor of surely. May be informal.

Interjection

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sure

  1. Yes, expressing noncommittal agreement or consent.
    "Do you want me to put this in the garage?" "Sure, go ahead."
  2. Yes; of course.
    "Could you tell me where the washrooms are?" "Sure, they're in the corner over there."
  3. You're welcome; polite response to being thanked.
    "Thanks for helping me with that electrical fault." "Sure. Any time."

Synonyms

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Translations

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References

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  • 1996, T.F. Hoad, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology, Oxford University Press, →ISBN

Anagrams

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Danish

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Adjective

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sure

  1. inflection of sur:
    1. definite singular
    2. plural

Finnish

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Verb

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sure

  1. inflection of surra:
    1. present active indicative connegative
    2. second-person singular present imperative
    3. second-person singular present active imperative connegative

Anagrams

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French

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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sure

  1. feminine singular of sur

Adjective

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sure

  1. Alternative spelling of sûre

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Italian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈsu.re/
  • Rhymes: -ure
  • Hyphenation: sù‧re

Noun

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sure

  1. plural of sura

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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From Old French seür, from Latin sēcūrus. Doublet of siker.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /sɛu̯r/, /siu̯r/, /suːr/

Adjective

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sure (comparative seurer)

  1. safe, protected (not dangerous or harmful)
  2. fortified, well-defended, protected; especially religiously
  3. sure, certain, confirmed
  4. sure-minded (certain of one's intent)
  5. reliable, of good quality
  6. sound, sturdy, hardy
Derived terms
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Descendants
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References
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Adverb

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sure

  1. sure, surely, with no doubt or uncertainty
  2. entirely, wholly, fully
  3. While protecting something, with protection
  4. With a tight grasp or grip
Descendants
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References
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Etymology 2

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Verb

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sure

  1. Alternative form of suren

Etymology 3

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Noun

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sure

  1. Alternative form of sire

Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology 1

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From Arabic سُورَة (sūra, “chapter of the Qur'an”).

Alternative forms

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Noun

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sure m (definite singular suren, indefinite plural surer, definite plural surene)

  1. (Islam) a sura (any of the 114 chapters of the Qur'an)

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

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sure

  1. definite singular of sur
  2. plural of sur

References

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Anagrams

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology 1

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From Arabic سُورَة (sūra, “chapter of the Qur'an”).

Alternative forms

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Noun

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sure m (definite singular suren, indefinite plural surar, definite plural surane)

  1. (Islam) a sura (any of the 114 chapters of the Qur'an)

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

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sure

  1. definite singular of sur
  2. plural of sur

References

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Anagrams

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Old English

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Etymology

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From Germanic, related to sūr (“sour”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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sūre f

  1. (botany) sorrel

Descendants

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Pali

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Alternative forms

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Alternative scripts

Noun

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sure

  1. vocative singular of surā (“a class of liquor”)

Romanian

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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sure

  1. inflection of sur:
    1. genitive/dative feminine singular
    2. nominative/accusative/genitive/dative feminine/neuter plural

Swedish

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Adjective

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sure

  1. definite natural masculine singular of sur

Turkish

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Turkish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia tr

Etymology

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From Ottoman Turkish سوره (sure), from Arabic سُورَة (sūra).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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sure (definite accusative sureyi, plural sureler)

  1. sura

Declension

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Inflection
Nominative sure
Definite accusative sureyi
Singular Plural
Nominative sure sureler
Definite accusative sureyi sureleri
Dative sureye surelere
Locative surede surelerde
Ablative sureden surelerden
Genitive surenin surelerin
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