Etymograph

English

truly

Truly comes from Middle English truely, from Old English trēowlīċe ‘faithfully, truly’; equivalent to true + -ly.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150trēowlīċe1‘faithfully; truly’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500truely1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1946truly1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English truly
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1946, Bertrand Russell: “He adds, very truly, that what was fatal to…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150trēowlīċeWiktionary, English truly‘faithfully; truly’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500truelyWiktionary, English truly
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1946trulyWiktionary, English truly. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1946, Bertrand Russell: “He adds, very truly, that what was fatal to…”

Formed from true + -ly

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, truth, truce, trig, troth, 2 more

Today it means

adv In accordance with the facts; truthfully, accurately.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “truly”. 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 / Old English trēowlīċe / truly

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