English
falsify
Falsify comes from French falsifier ‘to falsify’, from Latin falsificus ‘that acts falsely’, and ultimately from fallō ‘deceive, trick’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallō1‘deceive, trick’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfalsus2‘false’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfalsificus2‘that acts falsely’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEfalsificāre2‘make false, corrupt, counterfeit, falsify’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfalsifier2‘to falsify’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1587falsify2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin falsus
- 2 Wiktionary, English falsify
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., (please specify the folio): “he would not falsify his promise to Philanax”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallōWiktionary, Latin falsus‘deceive, trick’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfalsusWiktionary, English falsify‘false’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfalsificusWiktionary, English falsify‘that acts falsely’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEfalsificāreWiktionary, English falsify‘make false, corrupt, counterfeit, falsify’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfalsifierWiktionary, English falsify‘to falsify’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1587falsifyWiktionary, English falsify. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., (please specify the folio): “he would not falsify his promise to Philanax”
Formed from false + -ify
Latin fallō ‘to deceive’
Latin falsus ‘counterfeit, false’
Old English fals ‘false; fraud’
Middle English false
English false
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)gʷʰh₂el- ‘to stumble’
through Proto-Italic *falsō
through Latin fallō ‘deceive, trick’
failure, default, falsely, fallacy, fallacious, fallible, falsetto, 6 more
through Latin falsus ‘false’
Today it means
verb To alter so as to make false; especially when done with intent to deceive.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “falsify”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin falsus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin fallō / falsify