Word of the Day

: December 22, 2009

veracity

noun vuh-RASS-uh-tee

What It Means

1 : devotion to the truth : truthfulness

2 : conformity with truth or fact : accuracy

3 : something true

veracity in Context

English poet Thomas Gray wrote, "Any fool may write a most valuable book by chance, if he will only tell us what he heard and saw with veracity."

Did You Know?

"Veracity" has been a part of English since at least 1623, and we can honestly tell you that it derives from the Latin adjective "verax" ("true" or "truthful"), which in turn comes from the earlier adjective "verus" ("true"). "Verus" also gives us "verity" ("the quality of being true"), "verify" ("to establish the truth of"), and "verisimilitude" ("the appearance of truth"), among other words. In addition, "verax" is the root of the word "veraciousness," a somewhat rarer synonym and cousin of "veracity."