surety

The story

1. Latin · derived fromsēcūritās
2. Old French · derived fromseurté
3. Anglo-Norman · derived fromseurté
4. Middle English · inherited fromsurete
5. English todaysurety

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.

Words from the same roots