True

How to spell true

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce true

What does true mean?

1. adjectiveIn accordance with fact or reality; genuine and not false.

True in a sentence

• Every claim on the form must be true and verifiable.

• The rumour turned out to be true after the audit.

Where does true come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

True comes from the Old English trēowe, sometimes spelled trīewe, meaning 'faithful, trustworthy, or steadfast'. That word grew from a Germanic root tied to the idea of being firm and reliable, the same root that gave us 'trust' and 'truth'. In its earliest use it described loyal people and honest dealings rather than factual statements; a true friend was a faithful one long before a true answer was a correct one. Over the medieval period the meaning broadened to cover anything genuine, accurate, or conforming to reality. The link to 'tree' is real but distant, since the underlying sense was of something as solid and enduring as good timber. The simple spelling hides a quiet trap: the silent 'e' and the 'ue' ending, which writers sometimes muddle when forming related words.

How the word is built

• true (from Old English trēowe: faithful, trustworthy)