English
ensure
Ensure comes from Anglo-Norman enseurer, from Old French seur ‘sure’, from Latin sēcūrus ‘carefree’, from sē- ‘without’ + cūra ‘care’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-1‘to see’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizā1‘care’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūra1‘care’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēcūrus2‘careless’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400seur3‘sure’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400enseurer3
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ensuren3
- Englishearliest quotation 1485ensure3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin securus
- 2 Wiktionary, Old French seur
- 3 Wiktionary, English ensure
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, xvj: “Thenne he cryed hym mercy and sayd Faire knyght…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-Wiktionary, Latin securus‘to see’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizāWiktionary, Latin securus‘care’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūraWiktionary, Latin securus‘care’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēcūrusWiktionary, Old French seur‘careless’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400seurWiktionary, English ensure‘sure’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400enseurerWiktionary, English ensure
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ensurenWiktionary, English ensure
- Englishearliest quotation 1485ensureWiktionary, English ensure. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, xvj: “Thenne he cryed hym mercy and sayd Faire knyght…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with ensure, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Italic *kʷoizā ‘care’
- procurement ← procurer ← prōcūrō ← cūrō ← cūra
- manicure ← manucure ← cūra
- procurator ← procuratour ← procuratour ← prōcūrō ← cūrō
through Latin cūra ‘care’
26 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
verb To make sure or certain of something (usually some future event or condition).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “ensure”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin securus, Old French seur. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- / ensure