English
falsify
Falsify comes from French falsifier ‘to falsify’, from Latin falsificus ‘that acts falsely’, and ultimately from fallō ‘deceive, trick’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallō‘deceive, trick’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfalsus‘false’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfalsificus‘that acts falsely’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEfalsificāre‘make false, corrupt, counterfeit, falsify’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfalsifier‘to falsify’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1587falsify
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’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfalsificus‘that acts falsely’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEfalsificāre‘make false, corrupt, counterfeit, falsify’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfalsifier‘to falsify’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1587falsify
Earliest quotation: a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., (please specify the folio): “he would not falsify his promise to Philanax”.
Formed from false + -ify
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, falsely, fallacy, fallacious, fallible, falsetto, 6 more
through Latin falsus ‘false’
Today it means
verb To alter so as to make false; especially when done with intent to deceive.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin fallō / falsify