true
true (tro͞o)adj. tru·er, tru·est 1. a. Consistent with fact or reality; not false or erroneous. See Synonyms at real1. See Usage Note at fact. b. Truthful. 2. Real; genuine. See Synonyms at authentic. 3. Reliable; accurate: a true prophecy. 4. Faithful, as to a friend, vow, or cause; loyal. See Synonyms at faithful. 5. Sincerely felt or expressed; unfeigned: true grief. 6. Fundamental; essential: his true motive. 7. Rightful; legitimate: the true heir. 8. Exactly conforming to a rule, standard, or pattern: trying to sing true B. 9. Accurately shaped or fitted: a true wheel. 10. Accurately placed, delivered, or thrown. 11. Quick and exact in sensing and responding. 12. Determined with reference to the earth's axis, not the magnetic poles: true north. 13. Conforming to the definitive criteria of a natural group; typical: The horseshoe crab is not a true crab. 14. Narrowly particularized; highly specific: spoke of probity in the truest sense of the word. 15. Computer Science. Indicating one of two possible values taken by a variable in Boolean logic or a binary device.adv. 1. In accord with reality, fact, or truthfulness. 2. Unswervingly; exactly: The archer aimed true. 3. So as to conform to a type, standard, or pattern.tr.v. trued, tru·ing, or true·ing trues To position (something) so as to make it balanced, level, or square: trued up the long planks.n. 1. Truth or reality. Used with the. 2. Proper alignment or adjustment: out of true. [Middle English trewe, from Old English trēowe, firm, trustworthy. See deru- in Indo-European Roots.] trueʹness n. Word History: The words true and tree are joined at the root, etymologically speaking. In Old English, the words looked and sounded much more alike than they do now: “tree” was trēow and “true” was trēowe. The first of these comes from the Germanic noun *trewam; the second, from the adjective *treuwaz. Both these Germanic words ultimately go back to an Indo-European root *deru- or *dreu-, appearing in derivatives referring to wood and, by extension, firmness. Truth may be thought of as something firm; so too can certain bonds between people, like trust, another derivative of the same root. A slightly different form of the root, *dru-, appears in the word druid, a type of ancient Celtic priest; his name is etymologically *dru-wid-, or “strong seer.”
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