true

Pronunciation

• IPA: /truː/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English trewe, inherited from Old English trēowe (“faithful, trustworthy”) (West Saxon trīewe),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *treuwaz (“having good faith”).^[2][4] Watkins derives this from a suffixed form of Proto-Indo-European *deru- (“to be firm, solid”),^[2][4] the root that also gave tree, so that truth was something firm.^[4] Its relatives include Dutch getrouw, German treu and Old Norse tryggr,^[2][5][6] and in English truce, trust and trow.^[2][7][5] The spelling true dates from the 15th century.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Faithful, loyal, trustworthy: Old English trēowe, about 725, in Beowulf.^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

The Word Origins dictionary traces a gradual shift from “loyal” to “reliable, honest” and then to “truthful”.^[9] The sense “in accord with fact” is recorded probably before 1200^[3] or about 1200,^[2][8] and “real, genuine” from the late 14th century.^[2][7] “Rightful by law”, as in true heir, is from about 1400.^[2] “Exact, conforming to a standard”, as in true north, dates from the 1540s^[2] or about 1550,^[3] and was used in biology from the 1570s.^[2] Of things made, “accurately fitted” is late 15th century, and of aim, “straight to the target” by 1801.^[2] True-born and true-bred are from the 1590s, and come true from 1819.^[2][8] True-blue “staunchly loyal” first appears in Butler's Hudibras (1663), of the Scottish Presbyterians, whose colour was blue, long a symbol of constancy.^[3] The idea behind many a true word is spoken in jest is found in Chaucer.^[9] The verb meant “to prove true” in 1647, a sense now obsolete, and “to make true, adjust exactly” from 1841, at first a workmen's term.^[3][2][8] Truism was first used by Swift in 1708.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English trēowe, faithful (Beowulf).^[3]
• before 1200 – in accord with fact.^[3]
• late 14th century – real, genuine.^[2]
• c. 1400 – rightful, as in true heir.^[2]
• 1540s – exact, as in true north.^[2]
• 1663 – true-blue (Hudibras).^[3]
• 1708 – truism (Swift).^[3]
• 1819 – come true.^[2][8]
• 1841 – verb, to adjust exactly.^[3][2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. In accord with fact or reality; not false.
2. Real, genuine.
3. Faithful and loyal, as to a friend or cause.
4. Sincerely felt; unfeigned.
5. Rightful, legitimate: the true heir.
6. Exactly conforming to a standard or pattern; accurately fitted or placed.
7. Determined by the earth's axis rather than the magnetic poles: true north.

Adverb

1. Truthfully; in accord with fact.
2. Exactly, without swerving: aim true.

Verb

1. To adjust so as to make level, balanced or square.

Noun

1. Proper alignment: out of true.

Word family

• trueness
• troth
• trueborn
• truelove
• truism
• truly
• true-blue

Related words

• truth
• truce
• trust
• trow
• tree
• betroth

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press