This paper investigates the semantic development of the Galician adverb seguramente.
Special attention is paid to the meanings and uses of this item in different periods. The
medieval epistemic meaning of certainty contrasts with the present-day meaning of
probability. This shift in meaning is explained as a gradual development from certainty to
uncertainty with an intermediate stage where the adverb displays features of both certainty
and uncertainty markers. It is argued that the rise and fall of manner, strategic, and pragmatic …