Untruth

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ʌnˈtɹuːθ/

Definitions

1. A statement that is not true and is intended to mislead
2. An assertion or claim that is factually incorrect or deceptive
3. The act of presenting information that does not correspond to reality

Etymology: "Untruth" is a compound of "un-" and "truth", and the "truth" half is the more revealing part. Its ancestor, Old English "trēowþ", meant faithfulness or loyalty, the sense still found in the modern "troth", as in "plight one's troth." The older meaning of "truth" was essentially trustworthiness, a quality of keeping one's word, so an "untruth" originally described a failure of faithfulness rather than a false statement. The word's roots run deep in Germanic. Old English "untrēowþ" and "ungetrēowþ" were built on a Proto-West Germanic form, and Old High German had a close cognate, "ungitriuwida," showing the same pattern of negation attached to a word for loyalty. In Middle English the form became "untreuth," and only gradually did its meaning drift from disloyalty toward the falsehood we recognize today, as English speakers came to associate "truth" primarily with accuracy rather than fidelity.

Synonyms: falsehood, lie, deception

Antonyms: truth, fact