a. [ Compar. Truer superl. Truest. ] [ OE. trewe, AS. treówe faithful, true, from treów fidelity, faith, troth; akin to OFries. triuwe, adj., treuwa, n., OS. triuwi, adj., trewa, n., D. trouw, adj. & n., G. treu, adj., treue, n., OHG. gitriuwi, adj., triuwa, n., Icel. tryggr, adj., Dan. tro, adj. & n., Sw. trogen, adj., tro, n., Goth. triggws, adj., triggwa, n., trauan to trust, OPruss druwis faith. Cf. Trow, Trust, Truth. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Conformable to fact; in accordance with the actual state of things; correct; not false, erroneous, inaccurate, or the like; as, a true relation or narration; a true history; a declaration is true when it states the facts. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Right to precision; conformable to a rule or pattern; exact; accurate; as, a true copy; a true likeness of the original. [ 1913 Webster ]

Making his eye, foot, and hand keep true time. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Steady in adhering to friends, to promises, to a prince, or the like; unwavering; faithful; loyal; not false, fickle, or perfidious; as, a true friend; a wife true to her husband; an officer true to his charge. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thy so true,
So faithful, love unequaled. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dare to be true: nothing can need a lie. Herbert. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Actual; not counterfeit, adulterated, or pretended; genuine; pure; real; as, true balsam; true love of country; a true Christian. [ 1913 Webster ]

The true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. John i. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

True ease in writing comes from art, not chance. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Biol.) Genuine; real; not deviating from the essential characters of a class; as, a lizard is a true reptile; a whale is a true, but not a typical, mammal. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

☞ True is sometimes used elliptically for It is true. [ 1913 Webster ]

Out of true, varying from correct mechanical form, alignment, adjustment, etc.; -- said of a wall that is not perpendicular, of a wheel whose circumference is not in the same plane, and the like. [ Colloq. ] --
A true bill (Law), a bill of indictment which is returned by the grand jury so indorsed, signifying that the charges to be true. --
True time. See under Time. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In accordance with truth; truly. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of inflexible honesty and fidelity; -- a term derived from the true, or Coventry, blue, formerly celebrated for its unchanging color. See True blue, under Blue. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A person of inflexible integrity or fidelity. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of genuine birth; having a right by birth to any title; as, a true-born Englishman. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Of a genuine or right breed; as, a true-bred beast. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Being of real breeding or education; as, a true-bred gentleman. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of a faithful heart; honest; sincere; not faithless or deceitful; as, a truhearted friend. -- True"-heart`ed*ness, n. [1913 Webster]

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n. 1. One really beloved. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) A plant. See Paris. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An unexplained word occurring in Chaucer, meaning, perhaps, an aromatic sweetmeat for sweetening the breath. T. R. Lounsbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

Under his tongue a truelove he bore. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Truelove knot, a complicated, involved knot that does not readily untie; the emblem of interwoven affection or engagement; -- called also true-lover's knot. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being true; reality; genuineness; faithfulness; sincerity; exactness; truth. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An honest fellow. Shak. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]