true

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Agreeing with the facts; correct and not made up.

   This is a true story.

2. 2
   adj

   Real and genuine, not false or only seeming so.

   A true friend will stand by you in hard times.

3. 3
   adj

   Loyal and faithful to someone or something.

   He stayed true to his promise despite the pressure.

4. 4
   adj

   Exact and accurate; matching a model or standard.

   Please make a true copy of the original document.

Common collocations

• true story Adjective + noun
• true master Adjective + noun

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 (“…

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