surety
/ˈʃʊɹəti/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.82 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
That which makes sure; that which confirms; ground of confidence or security.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A promise to pay a sum of money in the event that another person fails to fulfill an obligation.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
One who undertakes to pay money or perform other acts in the event that his principal fails therein.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs."
- "For the more surety they looked round about."
- "[We] our happy state Hold, as you yours, while our obedience holds; On other surety none."
- "There remains unpaid A hundred thousand more; in surety of the which One part of Aquitaine is bound to us."
- "He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it."
- "Trump’s lawyers said two days ago that to post a bond covering the full amount of the $454m civil fraud judgment against him while he appeals was “a practical impossibility” after 30 surety companies turned him down."
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈʃʊɹəti/