need help with oxford dictionary?

Question

I am supposed to look up the etymology of the word 'truth'.
this is what i got from the oxford english dictionary:
The beta-forms perh. show a different ablaut grade, u beside eu, eo, whence OE. trúwa, trúa, faith, good faith (see TRUCE), trúwian to TROW, trust, confide, and ON. trúr true; but, as trup does not appear before the 13th c., when u and eu (ew) in other words had phonetically fallen together, it is possible that ME. truthe really comes from OE. treowe. See also TROTH.]

1- i don't understand what is a beta-form?
2- is it saying that :

OE=  trúwa, trúa, faith, good faith (see TRUCE), trúwian to TROW, trust, confide
ON= trúr true

3- I don't understand the rest... how did 'trup' get in there?and just everything else..

i am cool · Accepted Answer

truth:
O.E. triewð (W.Saxon), treowð (Mercian) "faithfulness, quality of being true," from triewe, treowe "faithful" (see true). Meaning "accuracy, correctness" is from 1560s. Unlike lie (v.), there is no primary verb in English or most other IE languages for "speak the truth." Noun sense of "something that is true" is first recorded mid-14c.

Let [Truth] and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter. [Milton, "Areopagitica," 1644] 
Truth squad in U.S. political sense first attested 1952. Truthiness "act or quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than those known to be true," catch word popularized in this sense by U.S. comedian Stephen Colbert, declared by American Dialect Society to be "2005 Word of the Year."

truthful :
1590s, from truth + -ful. Related: Truthfully; truthfulness.

dr_sebby · Answer

You need an etymology dictionary...not the standard oxford.

here is a great free online one that I really love:

www.etymonline.com

or...if you don't want to bother...here's what they had for "truth":  (bear in mind you should read their legend to figure out what things like "O.E." and so forth mean...(that one is OLD ENGLISH e.g.))
have fun!  it's a useful tool =)

truth 
    O.E. triewÃ° (W.Saxon), treowÃ° (Mercian) "faithfulness, quality of being true," from triewe, treowe "faithful" (see true). Meaning "accuracy, correctness" is from 1560s. Unlike lie (v.), there is no primary verb in English or most other IE languages for "speak the truth." Noun sense of "something that is true" is first recorded mid-14c.

        Let [Truth] and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter. [Milton, "Areopagitica," 1644] 

    Truth squad in U.S. political sense first attested 1952. Truthiness "act or quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than those known to be true," catch word popularized in this sense by U.S. comedian Stephen Colbert, declared by American Dialect Society to be "2005 Word of the Year."

Toby · Answer

truth 
O.E. triewÃ° (W.Saxon), treowÃ° (Mercian) "faithfulness, quality of being true," from triewe, treowe "faithful" (see true). Meaning "accuracy, correctness" is from 1560s. Unlike lie (v.), there is no primary verb in English or most other IE languages for "speak the truth." Noun sense of "something that is true" is first recorded mid-14c. 
Let [Truth] and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter. [Milton, "Areopagitica," 1644] 
Truth squad in U.S. political sense first attested 1952. Truthiness "act or quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than those known to be true," catch word popularized in this sense by U.S. comedian Stephen Colbert, declared by American Dialect Society to be "2005 Word of the Year."

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need help with oxford dictionary?

3 Answers