different between clinching vs certain

English

Verb

clinching

1. present participle of clinch

Adjective

clinching (not comparable)

1. That settles something (such as an argument) definitely and conclusively
   • 1872, Thomas Hardy, Under the Greenwood Tree, Part 2, Chapter 8,^[1]

     “Yes,” said Dick, with such a clinching period at the end that it seemed he was never going to add another word.

   • 1921, Edwin Arlington Robinson, “Imogen” in Collected Poems, lines 113-119,^[2]

     There were no dreams,

     No phantoms in her future any more:

     One clinching revelation of what was

     One by-flash of irrevocable chance,

     Had acridly but honestly foretold

     The mystical fulfilment of a life

     That might have once … But that was all gone by

   • 1960, “Breaking the Fast,” Time, 22 February, 1960,^[3]

     He shocked his hearers by urging them not to fast during Ramadan, which begins Feb. 29. As a clinching argument, Bourguiba recalled that even Mohammed, when inconveniently overtaken by Ramadan on his march to Mecca, counseled his soldiers: “Break the fast, and you will be stronger to confront the enemy.”

Noun

clinching (countable and uncountable, plural clinchings)

1. A clinch; a passionate embrace.
   • 1937, Motion Picture Herald (volume 127, issues 1-6, page 42)

     Though there are no kissings and clinchings, […]

2. A making certain or finalizing.
   • 2015, George Becnel, The Southland Conference: Small College Football, Big Dreams

     Only six weeks into the season, the top-ranked Bulldogs were undefeated at 60, but more important to Louisiana Tech was one of the earliest clinchings of a conference title in the annals of college football.

3. (computing, historical) The distortion of computer tape by wrinkling.
   • 1985, Alvin C. Larson, Computer Operator (AFSC 51150) (page 87)

     This “clinching” can distort the tape by causing a series of creases or folds in the surface and may produce read errors.

   • 1987, Conservation Administration News (issues 28-35, page 29)

     Computer magnetic tape is designed primarily for its storage capacity, speed, and capacity to be repeatedly erased and written over. […] Bad binder can cause holes in the oxide, loose particles, or clinching of tape.

English

Alternative forms

• certaine (obsolete)
• certeine (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English certeyn, certein, certain, borrowed from Old French certain, from a Vulgar Latin unattested form *cert?nus, extended form of Latin certus (“fixed, resolved, certain”), of the same origin as cretus, past participle of cernere (“to separate, perceive, decide”). Displaced native Middle English wis, iwis (“certain, sure”) (from Old English ?ewiss (“certain, sure”)) and alternative Middle English spelling sertane (“some, certain”)

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s??tn?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?s?tn?/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /?s?t?n/, /?s?tn?/
• Rhymes: -??(?)t?n
• Hyphenation: cer?tain

Adjective

certain (comparative more certain, superlative most certain)

1. Sure, positive, not doubting.

   I was certain of my decision.

   Spain is now certain of a place in the finals.

2. (obsolete) Determined; resolved.
3. Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.
4. Actually existing; sure to happen; inevitable.

   Bankruptcy is the certain outcome of your constant gambling and lending.
5. Unfailing; infallible.
   • 1702, Richard Mead, Mechanical Account of Poisons
6. I have often wished , that I knew so certain a remedy in any other disease
7. Fixed or stated; regular; determinate.

   • The people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day.

8. Known but not specifically named; indeterminate; indefinite; one or some; sometimes used independently as a noun, and meaning certain persons; see also "one".

   • It came to pass when he was in a certain city.

Synonyms

• (not doubting): See also Thesaurus:certain
• (sure to happen): unavoidable; See also Thesaurus:inevitable

Antonyms

• (not doubting): uncertain
• (sure to happen): impossible, incidental
• (known but not named): particular specific

Derived terms

• certainly (adv)

Related terms

• certainty (n)

Translations

Determiner

certain

1. Having been determined but not specified. The quality of some particular subject or object which is known by the speaker to have been specifically singled out among similar entities of its class.

Translations

Pronoun

certain

1. (with of) Unnamed or undescribed members (of).

   She mentioned a series of contracts, of which certain are not cited

   • 1611, Bible (King James Version), Acts xxiii. 12

     Certain of the Jews banded together.

Synonyms

• (unnamed or undescribed members (of)): some

Noun

certain pl (plural only)

1. (with "the") Something certain.

Further reading

• certain at OneLook Dictionary Search
• certain in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• certain in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Cretian, ant rice, anticer, cantier, ceratin, citrean, creatin, crinate, nacrite, tacrine, tercian

French

Etymology

From Old French certain, from Vulgar Latin unattested form *cert?nus, extended form of Latin certus (“fixed, resolved, certain”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s??.t??/

Adjective

certain (feminine singular certaine, masculine plural certains, feminine plural certaines)

1. certain (sure, positive)

   Il est certain qu'il viendra.

   It is certain that he will arrive.

2. certain (fixed, determined)
3. certain (specified, particular)

Derived terms

Noun

certain m (plural certains)

1. certain; certainty

Determiner

certain

1. certain: a determined but unspecified amount of ; some

   Certaines personnes vont aller.

   Some people are going.

Related terms

• certainement
• certitude
• incertain

Further reading

• “certain” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• carient, centrai, cernait, crainte, criante, écriant, encirât, encrait

Old French

Alternative forms

• (Picard dialect) chertain

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *cert?nus, from Latin certus. Compare Old Italian and Old Spanish certano.

Adjective

certain m (oblique and nominative feminine singular certaine)

1. certain; sure

Declension

Synonyms

• seur

Related terms

• cert

Descendants

• ? Middle English: certeyn
  • English: certain
• French: certain