True

Although the value of truth is much debated among philosophers, it is a matter of almost universal acceptance among computer scientists that true is equal to 1. Java coders may disagree, saying that implicit type casts are not allowed, but they have always been untruthful.

Hardware types will attempt to claim that true is some voltage above ground. See 3.3v and 5v.

A Perl hacker, on the other hand, thinks that truth is anything other than 0 or the empty string "". Contrast this with the shell programmer, who thinks that 0 is true, and every number greater than 0 is false -- the greater the number, the falser it is.

NAME

true - do nothing, successfully.

SYNOPSIS

true [ignored command line arguments]

True (?), a. [Compar. Truer (?); superl. Truest.] [OE. trewe, AS. treówe faithful, true, from treów fidelity, faith, troth; akin to OFries. triuwe, adj., treuwa, n., OS. triuwi, adj., trewa, n., D. trouw, adj. & n., G. treu, adj., treue, n., OHG. gitriuwi, adj., triuwa, n., Icel. tryggr, adj., Dan. tro, adj. & n., Sw. trogen, adj., tro, n., Goth. triggws, adj., triggwa, n., trauan to trust, OPruss druwis faith. Cf. Trow, Trust, Truth.]

1.

Conformable to fact; in accordance with the actual state of things; correct; not false, erroneous, inaccurate, or the like; as, a true relation or narration; a true history; a declaration is true when it states the facts.

2.

Right to precision; conformable to a rule or pattern; exact; accurate; as, a true copy; a true likeness of the original.

Making his eye, foot, and hand keep true time.
Sir W. Scott.

3.

Steady in adhering to friends, to promises, to a prince, or the like; unwavering; faithful; loyal; not false, fickle, or perfidious; as, a true friend; a wife true to her husband; an officer true to his charge.

Thy so true,
So faithful, love unequaled.
Milton.

Dare to be true: nothing can need a lie.
Herbert.

4.

Actual; not counterfeit, adulterated, or pretended; genuine; pure; real; as, true balsam; true love of country; a true Christian.

The true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
John i. 9.

True ease in writing comes from art, not chance.
Pope.

⇒ True is sometimes used elliptically for It is true.

Out of true, varying from correct mechanical form, alignment, adjustment, etc.; -- said of a wall that is not perpendicular, of a wheel whose circumference is not in the same plane, and the like. [Colloq.] --
A true bill (Law), a bill of indictment which is returned by the grand jury so indorsed, signifying that the charges to be true. --
True time. See under Time.

© Webster 1913

True, adv.

In accordance with truth; truly. Shak.

© Webster 1913

True (trOO), a. (Biol.)

Genuine; real; not deviating from the essential characters of a class; as, a lizard is a true reptile; a whale is a true, but not a typical, mammal.

© Webster 1913