true

1、true 头辈意思"忠诚、靠得住"，比"符合事实"来得早：出自印欧 dreu（稳固、坚实）——有猜想把它与 tree（树）连起来，取的就是树木扎实那股稳劲。
2、同族一串都从"可靠"来：truth（真理）、trust（信任）、truce（休战——彼此守信的停火）、betroth（订婚）。
3、三义连背：真的（a true story 真事）、准的（come true 成真、true north 正北）、忠的（a true friend 忠实朋友）。拼写 true /truː/，别见 tr 就念"特如"。

true 真的，真实的

来自古英语 triewe,忠诚的，真诚的，来自 Proto-Germanic*treuwaz,信仰，忠诚，来自 PIE*deru, 稳定的，稳固的，词源同 tree,endure.后引申词义依据事实的，真的，真实的等。

true

true: [OE] The underlying etymological meaning of true is ‘faithful, steadfast, firm’; ‘in accordance with the facts’ is a secondary development. It goes back to the prehistoric Germanic base *treww-, which also produced German treue and Dutch trouw ‘faithful’ and the English noun truce, and it has been speculated that it may ultimately have links with the Indo- European base *dru- ‘wood, tree’ (source of English tree), the semantic link being the firmness or steadfastness of oaks and suchlike trees. Truth [OE] comes from the same source, as do its derivative betroth [14], its now archaic variant troth [16], the equally dated trow [OE], and probably also trust and tryst.
=> betroth, troth, trow, truce, trust, truth, tryst

true (adj.)

Old English triewe (West Saxon), treowe (Mercian) "faithful, trustworthy, honest, steady in adhering to promises, friends, etc.," from Proto-Germanic *treuwaz- "having or characterized by good faith" (cognates: Old Frisian triuwi, Dutch getrouw, Old High German gatriuwu, German treu, Old Norse tryggr, Danish tryg, Gothic triggws "faithful, trusty"), from PIE *drew-o-, a suffixed form of the root *deru-/*dreu- "be firm, solid, steadfast" (cognates: Lithuanian drutas "firm," Welsh drud, Old Irish dron "strong," Welsh derw "true," Old Irish derb "sure"), with specialized sense "wood, tree" and derivatives referring to objects made of wood (see tree (n.)).

Sense of "consistent with fact" first recorded c. 1200; that of "real, genuine, not counterfeit" is from late 14c.; that of "conformable to a certain standard" (as true north) is from c. 1550. Of artifacts, "accurately fitted or shaped" it is recorded from late 15c. True-love (n.) is Old English treowlufu. True-born (adj.) first attested 1590s. True-false (adj.) as a type of test question is recorded from 1923. To come true (of dreams, etc.) is from 1819.

true (v.)

"make true in position, form, or adjustment," 1841, from true (adj.) in the sense "agreeing with a certain standard." Related: Trued; truing.

1. As a player he was unselfish, a true team man.

作为一名选手，他毫无私念，真正把自己摆在团队中。

2. But as with other charitable bodies, these figures mask the true picture.

但和其他慈善机构一样，这些数字掩盖了实情。

3. Too much salt masks the true flavour of the food.

太多的盐会盖住食物本来的味道。

4. They were decked out in tracksuits, seemingly to dissimulate their true function.

他们都穿着田径服，似乎想掩饰他们的真实职能。

5. The jury is out on whether or not this is true.

这是否属实仍未得出定论。

【loyal, constant, faithful, true】
这组词都有“忠实的”的意思，其区别是：
loyal: 一般指对祖国、领袖的忠诚或对事业、原则、誓言的忠实，不动摇。
constant: 侧重指思想状态的稳定或信念的坚定，也指爱情或感情等的忠贞不渝。
faithful: 多指对人对事或对诺言、誓言的始终不渝，侧重在任何情况下都绝不改变。
true: 侧重个人感情上的忠实和不动摇。

【real, authentic, genuine, true, actual, factual】
这组词都有“真的，真实的，实在的”的意思，其区别是：
real: 普通用词，含义较广，有时可与actual和genuine换用。指一切真实的或 表面看不出虚假的事物。
authentic: 常可与genuine换用，指与事实完全相符，强调准确可靠。
genuine: 普通常用词，指真正的，货真价实的，强调非人为或非虚假的。
true: 指同实际情况或标准完全一致。口语中多用。
actual: 指事物的实际存在，并非出自主观臆造。
factual: 与actual同义，但更测重根据事实，不扩大或缩小，不渲染。

【correct, accurate, exact, true, right, precise】
这组词都有“准确的，正确的”的意思，其区别是：
correct: 最常用词，主要指按一定标准或规则来衡量，没有谬误和差错或无缺点错误。
accurate: 指通过谨慎的努力达到符合事实或实际，侧重不同程度的准确性，与事实无出入。
exact: 着重在质与量方面的准确，语气比accurate强。
true: 暗指绝对准确，尤指复制品与原件丝毫不差。
right: 使用广泛，可与这些词中的correct换用，但常暗示道德、理解、行动等方面的正确。
precise: 侧重极端准确，更强调细节的精确无误。