Etymograph

English

sureness

Sureness comes from Middle English surenes ‘certainty, assuredness’, and goes back to sure.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sure1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500surenes2‘certainty, assuredness’
  3. Englishtodaysureness2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English surenes
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English sureness

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sureWiktionary, Middle English surenes
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500surenesWiktionary, English sureness‘certainty, assuredness’
  3. EnglishtodaysurenessWiktionary, English sureness

Formed from sure + -ness

Middle English sure

English sure

Linked words

through Middle English sure

surely, 1 more

Today it means

noun The property of being sure, certainty.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sureness”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Middle English surenes. 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 / Middle English sure / sureness

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