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surety

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surety

  • /ˈʃɔːɹɪti/ UK
  • /ˈʃʊəɹɪti/ UK
  • /ˈʃʊɹəti/ US
  • /ˈʃʊəɹəti/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English surete, attested since the early 1300s in the sense "guarantee, promise, pledge, assurance", from Anglo-Norman seurté/Old French seurté with the same meaning (whence modern French sûreté), from Latin sēcūritās. Equivalent to sure + -ty. The senses "security, safety, stability" and "certainty" are attested since the late 1300s. "One who undertakes to pay if another does not" is from the early 1400s. Doublet of security.

noun sureties

  1. countable, uncountable Certainty. Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs.
  2. countable, uncountable That which makes sure; that which confirms; ground of confidence or security. [We] our happy state Hold, as you yours, while our obedience holds; On other surety none.
  3. countable, uncountable A promise to pay a sum of money in the event that another person fails to fulfill an obligation. There remains unpaid A hundred thousand more; in surety of the which One part of Aquitaine is bound to us.
  4. countable, uncountable One who undertakes to pay money or perform other acts in the event that his principal fails therein. He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it.

    Similar: suretor

  5. countable, uncountable A substitute; a hostage. ...It happen’d on a solemn eventide, Soon after He that was our surety died, Two bosom friends, each pensively inclined, The scene of all those sorrows left behind, Sought their own village, busied as they went In musings worthy of the great event: They spake of Him they loved, of Him whose life, Th
  6. countable, uncountable Evidence; confirmation; warrant. She called the saints to surety, That she would never put it from her finger, Unless she gave it to yourself.

Translations

Every language

noun law: promise to pay on behalf of another

Españolfianza
한국어보증 bojeung
Portuguêscaução
Françaiscautionnement
DeutschBürgschaft
Italianofideiussione
Русскийпору́ка porúka

noun law: one who undertakes such promise

Españolfiador
Portuguêsfiador
Françaiscaution
DeutschBürge
Italianofideiussore
Русскийпоручитель poručitelʹ

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Cite this
MLA

"surety." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/surety. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

surety. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/surety

Chicago

"surety." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/surety.

BibTeX
@misc{surety_2026,
  title = {surety},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/surety},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}