surety

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun something clearly established
  2. noun property that your creditor can claim in case you default on your obligation
  3. noun a prisoner who is held by one party to insure that another party will meet specified terms

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.

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