Where does “false” come from?
false (Italian) comes from Italian falso, from Polish fałszywy, from Polish fałsz, from Middle High German valsch, from Latin falsus, from Latin fallō, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰwel- — to bend; to lie, deceive.
false (Italian): feminine plural of falso
Ancestry of “false”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Italian | falso | false; sham; forgery |
| 2 | Polish | fałszywy | false |
| 3 | Polish | fałsz | deceitfulness, phoniness; falsehood, falsity |
| 4 | Middle High German | valsch | — |
| 5 | Latin | falsus | deceived, tricked, cheated, disappointed, having... |
| 6 | Latin | fallō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰwel- | to bend; to lie, deceive |