Truth, n.; pl. Truths.
Etymology: [OE. treuthe, trouthe, treowpe, AS. treów. See True; cf. Troth, Betroth.]
1. The quality or being true; as: -- (a) Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been; or shall be. (b) Conformity to rule; exactness; close correspondence with an example, mood, object of imitation, or the like. Plows, to go true, depend much on the truth of the ironwork. Mortimer.
(c) Fidelity; constancy; steadfastness; faithfulness. Alas! they had been friends in youth, But whispering tongues can poison truth. Coleridge.
(d) The practice of speaking what is true; freedom from falsehood; veracity. If this will not suffice, it must appear That malice bears down truth. Shak.
2. That which is true or certain concerning any matter or subject, or generally on all subjects; real state of things; fact; verity; reality. Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor. Zech. viii. 16. I long to know the truth here of at large. Shak. The truth depends on, or is only arrived at by, a legitimate deduction from all the facts which are truly material. Coleridge.
2 more senses
3. A true thing; a verified fact; a true statement or proposition; an established principle, fixed law, or the like; as, the great truths of morals. Even so our boasting . . . is found a truth. 2 Cor. vii. 14.
4. Righteousness; true religion. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John i. 17. Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. John xvii. 17. In truth, in reality; in fact. -- Of a truth, in reality; certainly. -- To do truth, to practice what God commands. He that doeth truth cometh to the light. John iii. 21.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Truth, v. t.
To assert as true; to declare. [R.] Had they [the ancients] dreamt this, they would have truthed it heaven. Ford.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for truth; he lists it under justice, veracity, virtue.
Where he writes about it:
Truth is primarily and verity is always a quality of thought or speech, especially of speech, as in exact conformity to fact. — from veracity
Veracity is properly a quality of a person, the habit of speaking and the disposition to speak the truth; a habitual liar may on some occasions speak the truth, but that does not constitute him a man of veracity; on the other hand, a person of undoubted veracity may state (through ignorance or misinformation) what is not the truth. — from veracity
Candor, frankness, honesty, and ingenuousness are allied with veracity, and verity with truth, while truthfulness may accord with either. — from veracity
Truth in a secondary sense may be applied to intellectual action or moral character, in the former case becoming a close synonym of veracity; as, I know him to be a man of truth. — from veracity