Where does “truth” come from?
Truth descends from Middle English trouthe and Old English trēowþ, both meaning fidelity or loyalty, derived from Proto-Germanic triwwiþō, which traces to Proto-Indo-European roots involving the concept of firmness or solidity.
truth (English): True facts, genuine depiction or statements of...
Definitions
- True facts, genuine depiction or statements of...
Ancestry of “truth”, step by step
truth traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English troute
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | troute | trout certain fish of the genus |
| 2 | Old English | truht | trout |
| 3 | Old French | truite | — |
| 4 | Latin | tructa | a kind of trout |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | τρώκτης | gnawer, nibbler; greedy knave; kind of fish with... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -τής | Appended to verbs to form agent nouns |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | πεῖρα | trial, experiment, attempt |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |