surety

Noun

surety (countable and uncountable, plural sureties)

1. Certainty.
   • Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 15:13
   • For the more surety they looked round about.a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London...
2. 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.1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
3. 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.c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
4. 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.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 11:15
   • 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.2024 March 20, “New York attorney general could soon move to seize Trump’s property”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Synonyms:

   suretor

5. 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...1782, William Cowper, “Conversation”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC
6. Evidence; confirmation; warrant.
   • She called the saints to surety,
     That she would never put it from her finger,
     Unless she gave it to yourself.c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...