English
truly
Truly comes from Middle English truely, from Old English trēowlīċe ‘faithfully, truly’; equivalent to true + -ly.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150trēowlīċe‘faithfully; truly’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500truely
- Englishearliest quotation 1946truly
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150trēowlīċe‘faithfully; truly’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500truely
- Englishearliest quotation 1946truly
Earliest quotation: 1946, Bertrand Russell: “He adds, very truly, that what was fatal to…”
Formed from true + -ly
Proto-Indo-European *drewH- ‘firm’
Proto-Germanic *triwwiz ‘faithful’
Old English trēowe ‘faithful’
Middle English treowe
English true
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *drewH-
through Proto-Germanic *triwwiz ‘true, faithful’
Today it means
adv In accordance with the facts; truthfully, accurately.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English trēowlīċe / truly