Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TRUE, a. [Sax. treow, treowe, faithful, and as a noun, faith, trust; Sw. tro, Dan. troe; G. treu; D. trouw, trust, loyalty, fidelity, faith; trouwen, to marry; Goth. triggus, faithful; triggwa, a pact or league, a truce. This is the real orthography, coinciding with Sw. trygg, Dan. tryg, safe, secure, and W. trigiaw, to stay, to tarry, to dwell, that is, to stop, to set. The primary sense of the root is to make close and fast, to set, or to stretch, strain, and thus make straight and close.]

1. Conformable to fact; being in accordance with the actual state of things; as, a true relation or narration; a true history. A declaration is true, when it states the facts. In this sense, true is opposed to false.
2. Genuine; pure; real; not counterfeit, adulterated or false; as, true balsam; the tree bark; true love of country; a true Christian. The true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. John i.
3. Faithful; steady in adhering to friends, to promises, to a prince or to the state; loyal; not false, fickle or perfidious; as, a true friend; a true lover; a man true to his king, true to his country, true to his word; a husband true to his wife; a wife true to her husband; a servant true to his master; an officer true to his charge.
4. Free from falsehood; as, a true witness.
5. Honest; not fraudulent; as, good men and true. If king Edward be as true and just. Shak.
6. Exact; right to precision; conformable to a rule or pattern; as, a true copy; a true likeness of the original.
7. Straight; right; as, a true line; the true course of a ship.
8. Not false or pretended; real; as, Christ was the true Messiah.
9. Rightful; as, George IV is the true king of England.