English
truth
Truth comes from Middle English treuthe, from Old English trēowþ ‘truth, good faith’, from Proto-Germanic *triwwiþō.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*triwwiþō‘truth, promise’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*triuwiþureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150trēowþ‘truth, good faith’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500treuthe‘loyalty, truth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1707truth
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*triwwiþō‘truth, promise’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*triuwiþureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150trēowþ‘truth, good faith’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500treuthe‘loyalty, truth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1707truth
Earliest quotation: 1707, John Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or: “Ploughs, […] to make them go true, […] depends…”
Equivalent to true + -th
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’
true, truly, truce, trig, 2 more
through Old English trēowþ ‘truth, good faith, honour’
Today it means
noun True facts, genuine depiction or statements of reality.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *triwwiþō / truth