English
falsely
Falsely comes from Latin falsus ‘false’, and goes back to fallō ‘deceive, trick’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallō‘deceive, trick’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfalsus‘false’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fals‘falsehood, fraud, counterfeit’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fals‘false’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500falsly
- Englishearliest quotation 1910falsely
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallō‘deceive, trick’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfalsus‘false’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fals‘falsehood, fraud, counterfeit’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fals‘false’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500falsly
- Englishearliest quotation 1910falsely
Earliest quotation: 1910, PRINCETON'S GRADUATE COLLEGE; Issues a Denial [....]: “This could not be more falsely stated.”
Formed from false + -ly
Latin fallō ‘to deceive’
Latin falsus ‘counterfeit, false’
Old English fals ‘false; fraud’
Middle English false
English false
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)gʷʰh₂el- ‘to stumble’
through Proto-Italic *falsō
through Latin fallō ‘deceive, trick’
failure, default, fallacy, fallacious, fallible, 7 more
through Latin falsus ‘false’
Today it means
adv In a false manner.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin fallō / falsely