Falsehood
/ˈfɔːls.hʊd/noun
The state or quality of being false; a lie or untruth.
Did you know?The first part of *falsehood* comes from Old English *fals*, ultimately from Latin *falsus* (“deceived, counterfeit”), so the word has always been tied to the idea of deliberate deception rather than simple error.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰel-
“to blow, swell; later extended in some branches to ideas of deception and failure”
Latin
Latin
falsus
“deceived, counterfeit, false”
Old French
Old French
fals
“false, deceitful”
Old English
English
fals
“false, untrue, deceitful”
Middle English
English
falsehood
“the quality or condition of being false; untruth”