truth English · revision 2609

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 893|origins=ine-pro *deru-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /truːθ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|treuthe]], [[inh|ang|trēowþ|t=faith, fidelity, loyalty; pledge]], West Saxon trīewþ,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[m|ang|trēowe|t=faithful, true]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) the source of [[true]], with the abstract noun suffix [[-th]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) It is reconstructed as from Proto-Germanic *treuwaz “having good faith”,^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*deru-|t=to be firm, solid, steadfast]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) the root also of [[tree]], [[trust]] and [[truce]].^(Etymonline) [[troth]] is a doublet.^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Faithfulness, loyalty to a person or cause: about 893^(OED 1989) or before 899.^(Barnhart 1988) Middle English treuthe “the quality of being true” is from 1137, in the ''Peterborough Chronicle''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The original sense of ''truth'', like ''true'', was faithfulness and loyalty.^(Cresswell 2021) A solemn pledge or promise is from about 1000, especially of marriage, from about 1275.^(OED 1989) Truthfulness, sincerity, is from the 14th century.^(OED 1989) “Something that is true, a true statement”, as in ''tell the truth'', is from about 1378, in ''Piers Plowman'',^(Barnhart 1988) or the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) Conformity with fact, accuracy, is from 1570.^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline notes that English, like most Indo-European languages, has no basic verb for “to speak the truth” to set against ''lie''.^(Etymonline) Byron popularized ''truth is stranger than fiction'' in ''Don Juan'' (1823),^(Cresswell 2021) and Arthur Ponsonby wrote in 1918 that “when war is declared, Truth is the first casualty”.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 893 – faithfulness, loyalty.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1000 – a pledge.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1137 – the quality of being true.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 14th century – truthfulness.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1378 – a true statement.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1570 – accuracy.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1823 – ''truth is stranger than fiction''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The quality of being true or in accordance with fact.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # That which is true; the real facts: ''tell the truth''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # A fact or belief accepted as true: ''the truths of science''.^(AHD)

+ # Sincerity in action or speech; [[honesty]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(archaic)'' Faithfulness, loyalty.^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[truthless]]

+ * [[truthlessness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[true]]

+ * [[untrue]]

+ * [[troth]]

+ * [[trust]]

+ * [[truce]]

+ * [[tree]]

+ * [[betroth]]

+ * [[truthful]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}