verbfirst conjugation
certō1
certō (present infinitive certāre, perfect active certāvī, supine certātum)
Classical[ˈkɛr.toː]Ecclesiastical[ˈt͡ʃɛr.to]
№ 864 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- to match, vie with, emulate
- to fight, wrestle
- to contend, compete, race
- to struggle, strive
- to fight it out
- to dispute
- with infinitiveto try hard
Hi iaculis, illi certant defendere saxis
These try to defend with javelins, those with stonesVergilius, Aeneid X, 130
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
cum aliō pugnō quis prior sit; athlētae certant.certō -āre — in Mille Verba, Certāmina Gymnica
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Imitatio · Æmulatio · Certatio · Rivalitas · Simulatio
1. Imitari means merely the effort to produce something like some other thing, without any accessory moral notion; æmulari (from αἴσιμος) means, at the same time, to do something which shall gain equal or superior consideration, honor, and approbation, when compared with the thing imitated. Imitatio has in view only the thing itself, and is generally moderate and laudable; æmulatio has in view chiefly the person, who is already in possession of the quality worthy of imitation, and always seems more or less a passion, which deserves praise or blame, according as it has its foundation in the lover of honor, or in immoderate ambition. Plin. Ep. vii. 30. Demosthenis orationem habui in manibus, non ut æmularer (improbum enim ac pæne furiosum) at tamen imitarer ac sequerer tantum. Comp. i. 2, 2. viii. 5, 13. Quintil. i. 2, 26. Cic. Tusc. iv. 8, 17. 2. The æmulus is at first behind his opponent, and strives for a time only to come up to him, and be like him; whereas the certator and concertator are already on a par with their opponent, and strive to outdo him, and conquer him. 3. Æmulatio contends for superiority in any art; rivalitas, only for preference in estimation. Cic. Tusc. iv. 26, 56. Illa vitiosa æmulatione, quæ rivalitati similis est, quid habet utilitatis? 4. Imitatio is an effort to become something which a man at present is not, but fain would be, and really can become; whereas simulatio, an effort to pass for something which a man properly and naturally is not, nor ever can be. Imitatio is the means of attaining to an actual or presumptive ideal; whereas simulatio remains for ever a mere counterfeit. (iii. 64.)
Conjugation conjugation 1
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | certō | certābam | certābō | certāvī | certāveram certāram | certāverō certārō |
| 2nd sg. | certās | certābās | certābis | certāvistī certāstī | certāverās certārās | certāveris certāris |
| 3rd sg. | certat | certābat | certābit | certāvit certāt | certāverat certārat | certāverit certārit |
| 1st pl. | certāmus | certābāmus | certābimus | certāvimus certāmus | certāverāmus certārāmus | certāverimus certārimus |
| 2nd pl. | certātis | certābātis | certābitis | certāvistis certāstis | certāverātis certārātis | certāveritis certāritis |
| 3rd pl. | certant | certābant | certābunt | certāvērunt certārunt, certāvēre | certāverant certārant | certāverint certārint |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | certem | certārem | certāverim certārim | certāvissem certāssem |
| 2nd sg. | certēs | certārēs | certāverīs certārīs | certāvissēs certāssēs |
| 3rd sg. | certet | certāret | certāverit certārit | certāvisset certāsset |
| 1st pl. | certēmus | certārēmus | certāverīmus certārīmus | certāvissēmus certāssēmus |
| 2nd pl. | certētis | certārētis | certāverītis certārītis | certāvissētis certāssētis |
| 3rd pl. | certent | certārent | certāverint certārint | certāvissent certāssent |
passive indicative
| form | present | imperfect | future |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | certor | certābar | certābor |
| 2nd sg. | certāris certāre | certābāris certābāre | certāberis certābere |
| 3rd sg. | certātur | certābātur | certābitur |
| 1st pl. | certāmur | certābāmur | certābimur |
| 2nd pl. | certāminī | certābāminī | certābiminī |
| 3rd pl. | certantur | certābantur | certābuntur |
passive subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | certer | certārer |
| 2nd sg. | certēris certēre | certārēris certārēre |
| 3rd sg. | certētur | certārētur |
| 1st pl. | certēmur | certārēmur |
| 2nd pl. | certēminī | certārēminī |
| 3rd pl. | certentur | certārentur |
imperative
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | certā | certāre |
| pres. 2nd pl. | certāte | certāminī |
| fut. 2nd sg. | certātō | certātor |
| fut. 3rd sg. | certātō | certātor |
| fut. 2nd pl. | certātōte | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | certantō | certantor |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | certāre | certārī certārier |
| perfect infinitive | certāvisse certāsse | certātum esse |
| future infinitive | certātūrum esse | certātum īrī |
| present participle | certāns | — |
| perfect participle | — | certātus certāta, certātā, certātae, certātam, certātārum, certātās, certātī, certātōrum, certātōs |
| future participle | certātūrus certātūra, certātūrā, certātūrae, certātūram, certātūrārum, certātūrās, certātūre, certātūrī, certātūrīs, certātūrō, certātūrōrum, certātūrōs, certātūrum | certandus certanda, certandā, certandae, certandam, certandārum, certandās, certande, certandīs, certandōrum, certandōs |
gerundcertandī, certandō, certandumsupinecertātum, certātū
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- pro aris et focis pugnare, certare, dimicare
- to fight for hearth and home.
certo, āvi, ātum, 1, v. freq. a. cerno,
I. to decide something by a contest (cf. cerno, II. C. b.); hence, to fight, struggle, contend, combat, implying great exertion, and usually a measuring of strength (class. in prose and poetry; most freq. in a trop. signif.; syn.: decerto, contendo).
I. Of a physical contest of strength;
mostly of battle: utrum igitur utilius Fabricio... armis cum hoste certare, an venenis? Cic. Off. 3, 22, 87: adulescentium greges Lacedaemone videmus ipsi incredibili contentione certantis pugnis, calcibus, unguibus, morsu denique, id. Tusc. 5, 27, 77: manu, Sall. H. 2, 41, 6 Dietsch: proelio, id. J. 81, 3: cum Gallis pro salute, id. ib. 114, 2; cf. Tac. Agr. 5: de ambiguo agro bello, Liv. 3, 71, 2: de imperio cum populo Romano, Cic. de Or. 2, 18, 76: de principatu armis, Tac. H. 2, 47; cf. Suet. Vesp. 5: odiis etiam prope majoribus certarunt quam viribus, Liv. 21, 1, 3: acie, Verg. A. 2, 30 et saep.—Impers.: dignus quicum certetur, Pac. ap. Non. p. 473, 16: certatur limine in ipso Ausoniae, Verg. A. 10, 355; 11, 313: die quo Bedriaci certabatur, Tac. H. 2, 50: quā in parte rex pugnae affuit, ibi aliquamdiu certatum, Sall. J. 74, 3: in cujus (amnis) transgressu multum certato pervicit Vardanes, Tac. A. 11, 10; id. H. 4, 61.—Mostly poet. in pass.: certata lite deorum Ambracia (for the possession of which Apollo. Diana, and Hercules contended), Ov. M. 13, 713: certatus nobis orbis (i. e. de quo certavimus), Sil. 17, 342; cf. II. infra.—II. Out of the sphere of milit. operations, to contend, struggle, strive, emulate, vie with: certabant urbem Romam Remoramne vocarent, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 48, 107 (Ann. v. 85 Vahl.): haut doctis dictis certantes sed maledictis, Enn. ap. Gell. 20, 10, 4 (Ann. v. 274 ib.):
minis mecum, minaciis, Plaut. Truc. 5, 56: malitiā tecum, id. Pers. 2, 2, 56: benedictis, Ter. Phorm. prol. 20: certare ingenio, contendere nobilitate, Lucr. 2, 11: cum aliquo dicacitate, Cic. Brut. 46, 172: officiis inter se, id. Fam. 7, 31, 1; cf.: certatum inter collegas maledictis, Liv. 5, 8, 13; and: eo modo inter se duo imperatores certabant, Sall. J. 52, 1: cum civibus de virtute, id. C. 9, 2: pro sua quisque potentia, id. ib. 38, 3: contumaciā adversus contemnentes humilitatem suam nobiles certavit (Licinius), Liv. 9, 46, 4: cum usuris fructibus praediorum, to contend against interest (to strive to pay interest) with the produce of estates, Cic. Cat. 2, 8, 18: cum a Cheruscis Longobardisque pro antiquo decore aut recenti libertate; et contra, augendae dominationi certaretur, Tac. A. 2, 46: ob hircum, Hor. A. P. 220: joco, id. C. 2, 12, 18: mero, id. ib. 4, 1, 31: animis iniquis, Verg. A. 10, 7: parsimoniā et vigiliis et labore cum ultimis militum, Liv. 34, 18, 5: sententiis, Tac. A. 1, 29 al.: ut si nautae certarent, quis eorum potissimum gubernaret, Cic. Off. 1, 25, 87: mos gentis est, equitare jaculari cursu cum aequalibus certare, Sall. J. 6, 1: dic mecum quo pignore certes, Verg. E. 3, 31: celeri sagittā, id. A. 5, 485: certemus, spinas animone ego fortius an tu Evellas agro, Hor. Ep. 1, 14, 4.— Poet., with acc.: hanc rem ( = de hac re), Sedigit. ap. Gell. 15, 24; cf. in pass.: cui (multae) certandae cum dies advenisset, Liv. 25, 3, 14.—With dat. instead of cum: solus tibi certat Amyntas, Verg. E. 5, 8; Hor. S. 2, 5, 19; id. Epod. 11, 18; 2, 20; id. C. 2, 6, 15; Verg. E. 8, 55; id. G. 2, 138; Ov. M. 14, 794.—2. Particularly of judicial disputations, to contend at law:
inter se, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 16, § 39; cf. id. ib. 2, 2, 13, § 32: in centumvirali judicio, id. de Or. 1, 39, 177: si a duumviris provocarit, provocatione certato, Liv. 1, 26, 6: si quid se judice certes, Hor. S. 2, 1, 49: foro si res certabitur olim, id. ib. 2, 5, 27.—3. With inf. (mostly poet.), to strive to do something, to labor, endeavor, struggle earnestly, to exert one's self:
certantes ad summum succedere honorem, Lucr. 5, 1123; so, inter se cernere, id. 5, 394: dimittere se (nubes), id. 6, 509: populum alium suorum sepelire, id. 6, 1247: Phoebum superare canendo, Verg. E. 5, 9: superare, Ov. M. 5, 394: vincere, Verg. A. 5, 194: tollere (hunc) tergeminis honoribus, Hor. C. 1, 1, 8: inter se eruere quercum, Verg. A. 4, 443: certat quisque evadere, Curt. 9, 4, 33: frangere fluctus, Plin. Pan. 81 fin.; Sil. 13, 222; Stat. S. 5, 3, 191.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
certō āvī, ātus, āre, freq.
certus, to match, vie with, fight, contend, struggle, combat, do battle: armis cum hoste, an venenis?: pugnis, calcibus: proelio, S.: de salute, Ta.: de ambiguo agro bello, L.: acie, V.: animis iniquis, V.: in Bruti salute certatur: maximā vi certatur, S. — Fig., to contend, struggle, strive: inter se quo iure certarent: in centumvirali iudicio: provocatione, L.: si quid se iudice certes, H.: foro si res certabitur olim, be tried, H.: cui (multae) certandae cum dies advenisset, L.: certata lite deorum Ambracia, the subject of arbitration, O.: quicum omni ratione certandum sit: (carmina) certantia iudice Tarpā, recited in competition, H. — To contend, compete, wrestle, struggle, strive, vie, match: cursu cum aequalibus, S.: si nautae certarent, quis eorum potissimum gubernaret: dic, mecum quo pignore certes (in music), V.: Carmine vilem ob hircum, H.: solus tibi certat Amyntas, is your only rival, V.: Certent et cycnis ululae, V.—With inf: Phoebum superare canendo, V.: aequales certat superare legendo (violas), O.: inter se eruere quercum, V.: praedas certantes agere, with all their might, S.: Avidi gloriae certantes murum petere, striving to outdo one another, S.—Fig., to compete, vie, emulate, rival: Benedictis si certasset, T.: cum civibus de virtute, S.: cum aliorum improbitate: contumaciā adversus nobiles, L.: vobiscum de amore rei p.: virtute oportere, non genere certari.—Poet.: viridique certat Baca Venafro, H.: decerpens Certantem uvam purpurae, H.: (hunc) tergeminis tollere honoribus (i. e. tollendo), H.
Origins
- Proto-Indo-European*krey-
- Proto-Italic*kritos
- Latincertō
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin certō From certus (“resolved, certain”) + -ō.
Descendants
- Italiancertare
- Portuguesecertar
- Romaniancerta
- Romaniancertare
- Sardinianchertare
- Sardiniancertari
- Sardiniancertai
- Albanianqërtoj
- Aromanianntsertu
- Aromanianntsirtari