sure

Alternative forms

• sho
• sho'

Etymology

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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ʃʊə/, (pour–poor merger) /ʃɔː/
• (Standard Southern Britsh) IPA^(key): /ʃoː/, (cure–fir merger) /ʃɜː/^[1]
• (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ʃoː/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ʃʊɹ/, (cure–fir merger) /ʃɝ/, (pour–poor merger) /ʃoɹ/

  • Audio (US); /ʃɝ/:

    (file)

  • Audio (US); /ʃʊɹ/:

    (file)

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ʃɔɹ/, (cure–fir merger) /ʃɝ/
• (New York City) IPA^(key): /ʃuɚ/
• (non-rhotic, show–sure merger, African-American Vernacular) IPA^(key): /ʃoʊ/
• (Scotland, Northern Ireland) IPA^(key): /ʃʉːɹ/
• (Ireland) IPA^(key): /ˈʃuːɹ/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /sjʊəɹ/, /sjuːɹ/, /sɪʊ̯ɹ/
• Homophones: shore (pour–poor merger); shaw, Shaw (paw–poor merger); show (show–sure merger)
• Rhymes: -ʊə(ɹ), -ɔː(ɹ)

Adjective

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, 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.
   • c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 36, column 1:

     Feare not: the Forreſt is not three leagues off, / If we recouer that, we are ſure enough.

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.

Adverb

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.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iii:

     Theſe are the wings ſhall make it flie as ſwift,
     As dooth the lightening: or the breath of heauen,
     And kill as ſure as it ſwiftly flies.

Interjection

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."

Anagrams

• U.S.-er, US'er, rues, useR, U.S.er, user, Ruse, Ersu, Rues, U.S.'er, Reus, suer, ruse, ures, US-er, ERUs

Adjective

sure

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

Verb

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

• resu, seur.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -yʁ

Adjective

sure

1. feminine singular of sur

Adjective

sure

1. Alternative spelling of sûre

Further reading

• “sure”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• rues
• ruse, rusé
• suer
• user

Pronunciation

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

Noun

sure

1. plural of sura

Etymology 1

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

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

Etymology 1

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

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

References

• “sure” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “sure” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Anagrams

• ruse, suer, ures

Etymology 1

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

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

References

• “sure” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• ruse, suer

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsuː.re/

Noun

sūre f

1. (botany) sorrel

Alternative forms

Noun

sure

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsure/

Adjective

sure

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

Adjective

sure

1. definite natural masculine singular of sur

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /suːˈɾe/

Noun

sure (definite accusative sureyi, plural sureler)

1. sura