Etymograph

English

truce

Truce comes from Middle English true ‘faithfulness, assurance, pact’, from Proto-West Germanic *treuwu ‘fidelity, pledge’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *drewH-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*drewH-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*triwwiz2‘trusty, faithful’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*trewwō2‘fidelity, pledge’reconstructednoun form of *triwwiz
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*treuwu2‘fidelity, pledge’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150trȳw2‘faith’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150trēowa2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500true2‘faithfulness, assurance, pact’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500trewes2
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1732truce2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *triwwiz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English truce
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1732, Dr. Cranstoun: “[I]n about ſix VVeeks or tvvo Months, the Dyſentery…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*drewH-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *triwwizreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*triwwizWiktionary, English truce‘trusty, faithful’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*trewwōWiktionary, English truce‘fidelity, pledge’reconstructednoun form of *triwwiz
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*treuwuWiktionary, English truce‘fidelity, pledge’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150trȳwWiktionary, English truce‘faith’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150trēowaWiktionary, English truce
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500trueWiktionary, English truce‘faithfulness, assurance, pact’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500trewesWiktionary, English truce
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1732truceWiktionary, English truce. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1732, Dr. Cranstoun: “[I]n about ſix VVeeks or tvvo Months, the Dyſentery…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *drewH-

untrue, 2 more

through Proto-Germanic *triwwiz ‘trusty, faithful’

true, truth, truly, trig, troth, 2 more

Today it means

noun A period of time in which no fighting takes place due to an agreement between the opposed parties.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “truce”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *triwwiz. 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- / truce

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