(a) Steadfast in fidelity to friends, kin, country, etc., loyal; also, inseparable; (b) faithful in romantic or marital relations;—sometimes used of the heart; also, sincerely in love; (c) of a dog: unswervingly devoted, selflessly protective, unwaveringly loyal; (d) of love, friendship, etc.: constant, unfailing; of purpose or intent: focused on fidelity in love; (e) as conventional adjective for the turtledove;—often used fig. of Mary; sometimes as epithet; (f) as noun: one who is loyal to a lord, faithful to country, etc.; a faithful, devoted lover;—also coll.

(a) In phrases with the object of loyalty specified by to, unto, or a simple dative: loyal to (sb., a country, etc.); ~ frend (felaue) to; (b) in phrases with the object of devotion specified by to or unto: devoted to (one's lover, spouse, mate, etc.); ~ frend (lovere, wif, etc.) to; (c) in combs. and misc. phrases: ~ of bodi, sexually faithful, chaste; ~ of (in) love, ~ in lovinge, faithful in love, devoted; ~ of treuth, constant in love; ~ herted; ~ togeder, mutually loyal.

(a) In epithets; also as noun; also in address; (b) in conventional comparisons; (c) in proverbs and maxims.

(a) Conscientious in the discharge of obligations implied by loyalty; heedful of the needs or wishes of the object of loyalty; also, as noun: those who faithfully carry out their duties [quot. a1500(c1477)]; (b) assiduous in the discharge of obligations implied by love or marriage; attentive to the needs or wishes of a lover or spouse; (c) of a duty or responsibility: faithfully or diligently executed.

(a) Honorable, noble; true to one's word; also, as noun: the noble one; ~ of dedes, ?matching words with deeds; ~ of word (promisse, treuth); ~ to him-self, honorable; (b) trustworthy, reliable; of God, Christ, Mary: unfailing; as noun: one who is trusted; (c) of a condition: stable, durable; of a law, covenant, etc.: firm; (d) of things: strong, sturdy, sound; sure, secure; firm; to be relied on; also fig.; also [quot. c1400 (?a1387)], ?worthwhile; ?valued; also, of color: not liable to fading, stable; (e) reliable for a given purpose; of a remedy: effective, sure; of a field: productive, fertile; of a way: sure; also fig.; (f) in proverbs and conventional comparisons; also as noun [1st quot.].

(a) Honest in one's dealings; law-abiding; also, scrupulous; (b) as noun: an honest, law-abiding person;—also coll.; (c) in proverbs, prov. expressions, and stock similes; also as noun [quot. a1393, 1st].

(a) Of a person's heart, mind, etc.: faithful to principle, having integrity; rightly motivated, capable or possessed of proper feeling; also, pure in motive; (b) of a disposition, sentiment, etc.: sincere, heartfelt; unfeigned, genuine; (c) ~ of tonge (mouth), ~ tonged, courteous, wholesome; mild of speech.

(a) Steadfast in devotion to God; firm in belief in God or Antichrist; also, constant in belief; ~ in treuth; (b) of faith or belief: steadfast, strong; also, of an utterance: expressive of faith; (c) as noun: the faithful; also as epithet: ~ tobias, abraham (noah) the ~; (d) in conventional comparisons.

(a) Religiously orthodox, spiritually correct;—used of Christian belief, faith, etc.; consistent with or promotive of orthodox faith; of prelates, religious, etc.: rightly directed, spiritually sound; orthodox; also in fig. context; ~ bileve; the) ~ feith, the feith ~; (b) virtuous, pious, righteous; also, spiritually obedient; also, as noun: the righteous one;—used of Christ [quot. a1450]; ~ to god (the ordre, etc.); (c) of conduct, labor, etc.: characterized by or derived from piety.

(a) Really existing or occurring, actual [quot. 1404 may belong to sense 13.(c)]; really present, manifest; (b) such as it actually is, actual; also as mere pleonasm or intensifier.

(a) Really such, authentic; also, genuine; also, as noun: something that is genuine [quot. a1398, 2nd occurrence]; (b) archetypal, ideal;—used esp. of Biblical types; (c) such by strict definition; which properly bears the name; also, as noun: ribs proper [quot. ?a1425]; (d) as noun: the true God; also, a name for Christ; (e) in oaths and asseverations.

(a) Proper; such as it should be, requisite, correct; such as it must be, necessary; ~ werk; (b) of an instrument: calibrated and measuring correctly, accurate; of a measure or means of measuring: agreeing with the standard, correct; (c) true to its original; also, accurately represented; also, comp. as noun: something that is more accurately represented; (d) of a token, test, etc.: trustworthy for determining the truth, reliably indicative, sure; (e) possessed of the expertise belonging to a particular craft or skill, capable; also, as noun: those who are skilled [1st quot.].

(a) Of an account, a story, record, proposition, statement, etc.: factually accurate, correct; representative of reality; also, as noun: that which is true; for ~, as a factually accurate statement; maken ~, to make (a rumor) come true, bring to actuality; (b) of an opinion, etc.: sound, reliable; of a proverb, sentence, etc.: true to reality, apt, percipient; of nomenclature: doing justice to reality; of a grammatical rule: borne out; also, as noun in phrase: for ~, as sound conclusions; (c) of knowledge, a body of knowledge, etc.: accurately informed about reality; writen a ~ bok, fig. ?to conform oneself to Christ.

In phrases and combs.: (a) ~ thing, a truth, true statement; the ~ soth (treuth), the truth; the real truth; (b) ~ messager (witnes), a messenger (witness) who speaks truly; ~ prophete, a prophet who prophecies truly; (c) with that clause: ~ it is that, it is ~ that, etc.; also with that omitted [quot. a1500(c1477)]; (d) with pronoun or summary noun having vague or implied referent: this is ~, the contrarie is ~, etc.

In conventional comparisons and prov. expressions; also, as noun in phrase: for ~.

(a) Truthful, veracious; not given to deceiving, misleading, or dissembling; ~ in word (of wordes, of tonge), etc.; (b) of an act or a means of communication: expressing the truth, not deceptive; truthful, honest, not deceitful; also, as noun: something that is truthful [quot. ?a1425(c1400)]; ~ bok, a book that contains or embodies the truth;—also used fig. of Christ as the revelation of God; (c) of a dream, prophecy, feeling, etc.: revelatory of truth, veridical; genuinely inspired; (d) wise, discerning, learned; trustworthy as regards instruction or counsel; also, holding the correct opinion, in the right [quot. c1450]; also, as noun: one who is trustworthy;—also coll.; also, of counsel, etc.: judicious, wise; intended to represent the truth, honest; (e) ~ tonge (organe), tongue ~, a veracious or honest tongue; a wisely speaking tongue; ?also, an eloquent tongue; (f) in proverbs and conventional comparisons; also as noun [quot. c1450(c1375)].

(a) Just; fair, equitable; also, impartial; (b) of a party to a dispute: in the right; of a cause, case, quarrel, etc.: based on fact, rightly to be pursued, just; (c) lawful, legitimate, rightful; legally sanctioned, valid; of a law: in force, valid; of a sacrament: properly performed, valid; also, of a religious practice: based on correct beliefs, licit [quot. c1400(?a1387)]; (d) of goods: lawfully obtained; of monies: legitimately dispensed; (e) ~ title, legitimate right of possession; also, demonstrable evidence; bi ~ righte, by right.

In misc. senses: (a) in definition of the word 'treue'; (b) with weakened semantic content, as a generally approbatory term [quot. ?c1425 is an error through misconstruction of the Latin]; (c) sup. treweste, glossing ML scrutarius: ?best-tested, surest.

In surnames; also in allegorical names.