Aletheia
/ˌæl.ɪˈθiː.ə/noun
A Greek noun meaning truth, reality, or unconcealment.
Did you know?Aletheia is built from the alpha-privative plus a root tied to forgetting/hiddenness, so “truth” in Greek thought was something that emerges by being uncovered rather than merely stated.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*lēth-
“to be hidden, forgotten”
Ancient Greek
Greek
λήθη (lēthē)
“forgetfulness, oblivion, concealment”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἀλήθεια (alḗtheia)
“truth; unconcealment”
Classical Latin
Latin
aletheia
“truth; the Greek philosophical term”
Modern English
English
aletheia
“a philosophical term for truth or unconcealment”