Inflected forms: tru·er, tru·est 1a. Consistent with fact or reality; not false or erroneous. See synonyms at real1. See Usage Note at fact. b. Truthful. 2. Real; genuine. See synonyms at authentic. 3. Reliable; accurate: a true prophecy.4. Faithful, as to a friend, vow, or cause; loyal. See synonyms at faithful. 5. Sincerely felt or expressed; unfeigned: true grief.6. Fundamental; essential: his true motive.7. Rightful; legitimate: the true heir.8. Exactly conforming to a rule, standard, or pattern: trying to sing true B.9. Accurately shaped or fitted: a true wheel.10. Accurately placed, delivered, or thrown. 11. Quick and exact in sensing and responding. 12. Determined with reference to the earth's axis, not the magnetic poles: true north.13. Conforming to the definitive criteria of a natural group; typical: The horseshoe crab is not a true crab.14. Narrowly particularized; highly specific: spoke of probity in the truest sense of the word.15.Computer Science Indicating one of two possible values taken by a variable in Boolean logic or a binary device.
ADVERB:
1. In accord with reality, fact, or truthfulness. 2. Unswervingly; exactly: The archer aimed true.3. So as to conform to a type, standard, or pattern.
TRANSITIVE VERB:
Inflected forms: trued, tru·ing or true·ing, trues To position (something) so as to make it balanced, level, or square: trued up the long planks.
NOUN:
1. Truth or reality. Used with the.2. Proper alignment or adjustment: out of true.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English trewe, from Old English trowe, firm, trustworthy. See deru- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:
trueness —NOUN
WORD HISTORY:
The words true and tree are joined at the root, etymologically speaking. In Old English, the words looked and sounded much more alike than they do now: “tree” was trow and “true” was trowe. The first of these comes from the Germanic noun *trewam; the second, from the adjective *treuwaz. Both these Germanic words ultimately go back to an Indo-European root *deru– or *dreu–, appearing in derivatives referring to wood and, by extension, firmness. Truth may be thought of as something firm; so too can certain bonds between people, like trust, another derivative of the same root. A slightly different form of the root, *dru–, appears in the word druid, a type of ancient Celtic priest; his name is etymologically *dru-wid-, or “strong seer.”
tr
owe, firm, trustworthy. See deru- in Appendix I.
ness —NOUN
