Emily Dickinson Lexicon

FACT, n. [L. factum, from facio, to make or do; Fr. fait; It. fatto; Sp. hecho.]

1. Any thing done, or that comes to pass; an act; a deed; an effect produced or achieved; an event. Witnesses are introduced into court to prove a fact. Facts are stubborn things. To deny a fact knowingly is to lie.
2. Reality; truth; as, in fact. So we say, indeed.