true

adj

Etymology: From Middle English treowe, trew, trewe, triwe, true, trwe, from Old English trēowe, trīewe (“faithful, true”), from Proto-Germanic *triwwiz (“faithful, true”), from pre-Germanic *drewh₂yos, from Proto-Indo-European *drewH- (“firm, hard, true”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian trjou (“honest”), Alemannic German trüüw (“loyal”), Dutch trouw (“loyal, true”), German treu (“loyal, true”), Luxembourgish trei (“loyal”), Danish tryg (“safe, secure”), Faroese and Icelandic tryggur (“faithful, loyal; safe”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish trygg (“safe, secure”), Gothic 𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍅𐍃 (triggws, “true; faithful, loyal”); also Irish dearbh (“sure”), Old Prussian druwis (“faith”), Ancient Greek δροόν (droón, “firm”)), extension of *dóru (“tree”) (possibly also Proto-Slavic *sъdorvъ (“healthy”) from the same root). More at tree. For the semantic development, compare Latin robustus (“tough”) from robur (“red oak”).

1. Conforming to the actual state of reality or fact; factually correct.

   “This is a true story.”

   “The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again;[…]. Now she had come to look upon the matter in its true proportions, and her anticipation of a possible chance of teaching him a lesson was a pleasure to behold.”

2. Conforming to the actual state of reality or fact; factually correct.

   “True, I have only read part of the book, but I like it so far.”

3. Conforming to a rule or pattern; exact; accurate.

   “a true copy”

   “a true likeness of the original”

4. Of the state in Boolean logic that indicates an affirmative or positive result.

   “"A and B" is true if and only if "A" is true and "B" is true.”

5. Loyal, faithful.

   “He’s turned out to be a true friend.”

   “I really let you down / Next time I'll be true, yeah”

6. Genuine; legitimate; valid; sensu stricto.

   “The true king has returned!”

   “This is true Parmesan cheese — it is from the Parma region.”

7. Genuine; legitimate; valid; sensu stricto.

   “true sparrows (Passer)”

   “true spiders”

8. Accurate; following a path toward the target.

   “Whate'er the weapon, still his aim was true, Nor e'er in vain the fatal bullet flew.”

   “I held my breath and struck the ball. My aim was true, but I didn't give the damn thing enough gas. It died three feet from the cup.”

9. Correctly aligned or calibrated, without deviation.

   “Is my bike wheel true? It feels unsteady.”

   “Brakes need good braking surfaces and true wheels to work properly.”

10. Fair, unbiased, not loaded.

    “Let Z#95;t be twice the value of a true die shown on the t-th toss.”

    “In fact, few profit margins can be predicted with such reliability as those provided by a true roulette wheel or other game of chance.”

11. based on actual historical events.

    “true crime”

    “true romance”

adv

Etymology: From Middle English treowe, trew, trewe, triwe, true, trwe, from Old English trēowe, trīewe (“faithful, true”), from Proto-Germanic *triwwiz (“faithful, true”), from pre-Germanic *drewh₂yos, from Proto-Indo-European *drewH- (“firm, hard, true”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian trjou (“honest”), Alemannic German trüüw (“loyal”), Dutch trouw (“loyal, true”), German treu (“loyal, true”), Luxembourgish trei (“loyal”), Danish tryg (“safe, secure”), Faroese and Icelandic tryggur (“faithful, loyal; safe”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish trygg (“safe, secure”), Gothic 𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍅𐍃 (triggws, “true; faithful, loyal”); also Irish dearbh (“sure”), Old Prussian druwis (“faith”), Ancient Greek δροόν (droón, “firm”)), extension of *dóru (“tree”) (possibly also Proto-Slavic *sъdorvъ (“healthy”) from the same root). More at tree. For the semantic development, compare Latin robustus (“tough”) from robur (“red oak”).

1. Accurately; in alignment.

   “This gun shoots true.”

   “If the tyre doesn't run true (it wobbles as you spin the wheel), re-seat it by letting most of the air out and pulling the tyre away from the bead.”

2. Truthfully.

   “I tel you true my hart is ſwolne with wrath, On this ſame theeuish villain Tamburlain.”

   “What am I to you? Tell me, darling, true.”

name

1. A surname.
2. An unincorporated community in Summers County, West Virginia, United States.
3. A town in Rusk County, Wisconsin, United States.
4. A townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

noun

Etymology: Variant of truce.

1. A pledge or truce.

verb

Etymology: From Middle English treowe, trew, trewe, triwe, true, trwe, from Old English trēowe, trīewe (“faithful, true”), from Proto-Germanic *triwwiz (“faithful, true”), from pre-Germanic *drewh₂yos, from Proto-Indo-European *drewH- (“firm, hard, true”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian trjou (“honest”), Alemannic German trüüw (“loyal”), Dutch trouw (“loyal, true”), German treu (“loyal, true”), Luxembourgish trei (“loyal”), Danish tryg (“safe, secure”), Faroese and Icelandic tryggur (“faithful, loyal; safe”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish trygg (“safe, secure”), Gothic 𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍅𐍃 (triggws, “true; faithful, loyal”); also Irish dearbh (“sure”), Old Prussian druwis (“faith”), Ancient Greek δροόν (droón, “firm”)), extension of *dóru (“tree”) (possibly also Proto-Slavic *sъdorvъ (“healthy”) from the same root). More at tree. For the semantic development, compare Latin robustus (“tough”) from robur (“red oak”).

1. To straighten (something that is supposed to be straight).

   “He trued the spokes of the bicycle wheel.”

   “Don't attempt to true a wheel until you've a good idea what is causing the buckle.”

2. To make even, level, symmetrical, or accurate, align; adjust (often followed by up).

   “We spent all night truing up the report.”