Etymograph

English

troth

Troth comes from Old English trēowþ ‘truth, veracity’, from Proto-Germanic *triwwiþō ‘contract’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *drewH-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*drewH-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*triwwiz2‘true, faithful’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*triwwiþō3‘contract’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150trēowþ3‘truth, veracity’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500troth3
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1565troth3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *triwwiz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *triwwiþō
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English troth
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1565, James Calfhill, The Preface to the Readers: “[John] Martiall, much like to Virgil's Sinon, (of whom…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*drewH-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *triwwizreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*triwwizWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *triwwiþō‘true, faithful’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*triwwiþōWiktionary, English troth‘contract’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150trēowþWiktionary, English troth‘truth, veracity’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500trothWiktionary, English troth
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1565trothWiktionary, English troth. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1565, James Calfhill, The Preface to the Readers: “[John] Martiall, much like to Virgil's Sinon, (of whom…”

Formed from true + -th

Proto-Indo-European *drewH- ‘firm’

Proto-Germanic *triwwiz ‘faithful’

Old English trēowe ‘faithful’

Middle English treowe

English true

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *drewH-

untrue, 2 more

through Proto-Germanic *triwwiz ‘true, faithful’

true, truly, truce, trig, 2 more

through Old English trēowþ ‘truth, veracity’

truth

Today it means

noun An oath, pledge, plight, or promise.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “troth”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *triwwiz, Proto-Germanic *triwwiþō. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *drewH- / troth

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