true

Meanings

1. 1
   adv

   as acknowledged

   True, you are the smartest in our class.

2. 2
   adj

   accurately placed or thrown

   My aim was true.

3. 3
   adj

   devoted (sometimes fanatically) to a cause or concept or truth

   true believers bonded together against all who disagreed with them

4. 4
   adj

   expressing or given to expressing the truth

   a true statement

5. 5
   adj

   conforming to definitive criteria

   the horseshoe crab is not a true crab

6. 6
   verb

   make level, square, balanced, or concentric

   true up the cylinder of an engine

7. 7
   adj

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

   This is a true story.

8. 8
   adj

   Conforming to a rule or pattern; exact; accurate.

   a true copy

Etymology

From Middle English trewe, from Old English trīewe, (Mercian) trēowe (“trusty, faithful”), from Proto-Germanic *triwwiz (compare Saterland Frisian trjou (“honest”), Dutch getrouw and trouw, German treu, Norwegian and Swedish trygg (“safe, secure’”)), from pre-Germanic *drewh₂yos, from Proto-Indo-European *drewh₂- (“steady, firm”) (compare 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 (“…