English
true
True comes from Old English trēowe ‘faithful, true’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *drewH-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*drewH-‘firm’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*triwwiz‘faithful’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150trēowe‘faithful’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500treowe
- Englishearliest quotation 1568true
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*drewH-‘firm’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*triwwiz‘faithful’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150trēowe‘faithful’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500treowe
- Englishearliest quotation 1568true
Earliest quotation: 1568, William Cornysh, In the Fleete Made by Me William Cornishe …: “The Harpe. […] A harper with his wreſt maye…”
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *triwwiz ‘faithful, true’
Today it means
adj Conforming to the actual state of reality or fact; factually correct.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *drewH- / true