Where does “half-truth” come from?
half-truth (English) comes from English truth, from Middle English troute, from Old English truht, from Old French truite, from Latin tructa, from Ancient Greek τρώκτης, from Ancient Greek -τής, from Ancient Greek πεῖρα — passed , crossed.
half-truth (English): A deceptive statement, especially one that is...
Definitions
- A deceptive statement, especially one that is...
Ancestry of “half-truth”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | truth | True facts, genuine depiction or statements of... |
| 2 | Middle English | troute | trout certain fish of the genus |
| 3 | Old English | truht | trout |
| 4 | Old French | truite | — |
| 5 | Latin | tructa | a kind of trout |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | τρώκτης | gnawer, nibbler; greedy knave; kind of fish with... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -τής | Appended to verbs to form agent nouns |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | πεῖρα | trial, experiment, attempt |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |