falsehood 
= Syn. Falsehoful. l-'iih, -m w. Falsilii; untrntli, fabric n- 
tion, fiction. Instance.-, may IK- quoted in abundance from 
old authors to show that the first three words are often 
strictly synonymous ; but the modern tendency has been 
decidedly in favor of separating them, falsehood standing 
for the concrete quality, in a person or thing, of being in- 
tentionally false ; falseness, for the quality of being guil- 
tily false or treacherous : as, hla/WiMMM to liis oath ; and 
.falsity, for the quality of being false without blame : as, 
tiiefdltity of reasoning. 
But faith, fanatic faith, once welded fast 
To some dear falsehood, hugs it to the last. 
Moore, Veiled Prophet. 
The lie is the falsehood : the untruthfulness of it is the 
falseness. A. Phelps, Eng. Style, p. 368. 
A distinction may be well established between cases in 
which falsehood and falsity might appear capable of be- 
ing employed indifferently. " I perceive the falsehood of 
your declaration," might be misconstrued into giving the 
lie where no such intention existed. This might have 
been avoided by using the term falsity. 
C. J. Smith, Synonymes, p. 422. 
false-hoofed (fals'hoft), a. Having false hoofs : 
applied to a series of mammals consisting of 
the elephants and rock-conies, of the orders 
Proboseidea and Hyracoiclea, or of the obsolete 
group Chelophora. 
falsely (fals'li), adv. [< ME. falsly, falsliche (= 
D. valschelijlc = G. fdlschlich = Icel. falsliga = 
Dan. falskelig = Sw. falskeligen) ; (.false, a., 
-ly 2 .] 1. In a false way ; in opposition to truth 
and fact ; not truly : as, to speak or swear false- 
ly ; to testify falsely. 
Her. She never saw it. 
King. Thou speak'st it falsely, as I love mine honour. 
Shak., All's Well, v. 3. 
2. Treacherously; perfidiously. 
Oth. Not Cassio kill'd ? Then murther's out of tune, 
And sweet revenge grows harsh. 
Des. O/afeety./ofeeij/murther'd! Shak., Othello, v. 2. 
3. Not correctly; erroneously; mistakenly: as, 
a passage falsely translated. 
2131 
etc.), false: see false, a.\ I. n. The highest or 
smallest register or quality in both male and 
female voices : so called because in its untrained 
state it is more or less unnatural and forced, 
and because at best it is usually intractable. 
Tlie term is somewhat loosely applied to other registers 
or qualities; it is much more obvious in the male voice 
than in the female. Physiologically, it results from a 
partial vibration of the vocal cords. 
II. a. 1 . Having the quality and compass of 
the falsetto. 2. Assumed; constrained; un- 
naturally high-pitched ; false. [Rare.] 
Influenced by the falsetto sentiment which found its 
most notable illustration in "Paul and Virginia." 
Men and Manners in America One Hundred Years Ayo, 
[p. 14. 
falsi crimen (fal'si kri'men). [L.] In law, the 
crime of what is false ; the crime of fraud. 
Specifically (a) In civil law, a fraudulent subornation or 
concealment, with design to darken or conceal the truth, 
or make things appear otherwise than they really are, as 
in swearing falsely, antedating a contract, or selling by 
false weights. (b) In modern common lair, forgery. 
falsiflable (fal'si-fi-a-bl), a. [< OF. (and F.) 
falsifiable, < falsifies", falsify.] Capable of be- 
ing falsified, counterfeited, or corrupted. 
falsification (fal'si-fi-ka'shon), . [< OF. (and 
F.) falsification = Sp. falsification = Pg.falsi- 
ficaq&o = It. falsificazione, \WL.falsificatio(n-), 
< falsificare, falsify: see falsify.] 1. The act 
of falsifying or making false ; false represen- 
tation; the act of deceptively altering, adul- 
terating, counterfeiting, misrepresenting, etc. : 
as, the falsification of weights and measures, 
of goods, or of coin ; falsification of a record, or 
of an author's meaning. 
By misconstruction of the sense, or by falsification of 
the words. Hooker, Eccles. Polity. 
To counterfeit the dead image of a king in his coin is a 
high offence ; but to counterfeit the living image of a king 
in his person exceedeth the falsifications. Bacon. 
2. A showing to be false or erroneous ; confu- 
tation : as, the falsification of a prediction ; the 
falsification of a charge. 3. In too: (a) The 
offense of falsifying a record. See falsify, v. t. 
falsen (fal'sn), v. t. To render false. [Rare.] (6) In equity, the act of showing an item claimed 
on the credit side of an account to be erroneous. 
falsificator (fal'si-fi-ka-tor), n. [= F.falsifi- 
cateur = Sp. Pg.falsifieador = It. fahificatore, < 
ML. as it* falsificator, (.falsificare, falsify: see 
falsify.'} A falsifier. 
Of couetyse falsely men may muse 
There benefettis, and wrongely hyr at-wyjte 
Of suche occac[i]on where she is nat to wyghte. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 20. 
We are living with a system of classes so intense . . , 
that the whole action of our minds is hampered and fal- 
iened by it. M. Arnold, Nineteenth Century, XXIII. 482. 
falseness (fals'nes), . [< ME. falsnes, fals- 
iiesse; < false, a., + -ness.] 1. Want of truth; 
untruthfulness: as, the falseness of a report. 
2. Want of integrity and veracity either in 
principle or in act; duplicity; deceit; double- 
dealing; unfaithfulness; treachery; perfidy; 
traitorousness : as, the falseness of a man's 
heart, or his falseness to his word. 
Piety is opposed to hypocrisy and insincerity, and all 
falseness or foulness of intentions. 
Hammond, Fundamentals. 
The prince is in no danger of being betrayed by the 
falseness or cheated by the avarice of such a servant. 
Rogers. 
= Syn. Falsity, etc. See falsehood. 
false-quarters (fals'kwar"terz), n. A soreness 
inside the hoofs of horses. [Prov. Eng.] 
falsert (fal'ser), n. [Formerly ulsofalsor, etc. ; 
< ME. falsere (cf . MHG. valscluere, G. falscher = 
Icel. falsari = Dan. falskner), < OF. "falsaire, 
faussaire, F. faussaire = Pr. falsari = Sp. Pg. 
It. falsario, < LL. falsarius, falser, a forger (of 
written documents), < L. falsas, false : see false, 
a.] One who renders false or falsifies; a de- 
ceiver; a false, treacherous person. 
The whiche prououncen me to be a falsere and a de- 
strosere or apeirere [impairer] of holi scriptures. 
Wijclif, Prol. 1 on the Cath. Epist., Works (ed. Forshall), 
[III. 594. 
And such end. perdie, does all hem remayne, 
That of such falser* freendship bene fayne. 
Spenser, Shep. Cal., May. 
falseshipt, >< [ME. *falsship, felsship; < false, 
a., + -ship.~\ Falsehood. 
3issinge and glosinge an felsship beon riue. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 222. 
falsett (fal' set), n. A corrupt form offalgehead: 
as, in old law writings, "crime offalset." Skene. 
falsetto (fal-set 7 ), n. [= D. G. Dan. falset = Sw. 
falsett, < It. falsetto: see falsetto.'] A shrill, 
high tone of the voice ; falsetto. [Rare.] 
The cry, scream, yell, and all shrillness, are various 
modes of the falsette. Pierce. 
falsettist (fal-set'ist), . [< falsetto + -ist.~\ 
One who speaks or sings in falsetto. 
Soprano/a(se((w( were once common enough in France, 
and especially in Spain, from which country the Papal 
Chapel used to draw its most admired singers. 
Harper's Mag., LXXVII. 73. 
falsetto (fal-set'6), n. and a. lit. falsetto (= Sp. 
Pg.falsete = F.fausset), dim. offalso (=F.faux, 
He discovereth a malign itch to have made me a falsi- 
ftcator like himself. 
Bp. Morton, Discharge of Imput., p. 175. 
falsifier (fal'si-fi-er), n. 1. One who falsifies, 
counterfeits, or gives to a thing a deceptive 
appearance ; specifically, one who makes false 
coin. 
That punishment which is appointed for the forgers and 
falsifiers of the king's crown. Ascham, Toxophilus, i. 
2. One who invents falsehoods ; a liar. 
Boasters are naturally falsifiers, and the people, of all 
others, that put their shams the worst together. 
Sir R. L' Estrange. 
3. One who proves a thing to be false. [Rare.] 
falsify (fal'si-fi), v. ; pret. and -pp. falsified, ppr. 
falsifying. [< OF. (and F.) falsifier = Sp. Pg. 
falsificar= It. falsificare, < ML. falsificare, make 
false, corrupt, counterfeit, falsify (LL. falsifi- 
catus, as adj.), < L. falsifictts, that acts falsely, 
making false, < fa&us, false, + facere, make. 
The older verb in E. is false.'] I. trans. 1. 
To make false or deceptive; cause to vary 
from truth or genuineness ; change so as to de- 
ceive ; sophisticate ; adulterate ; misrepresent : 
as, to falsify accounts, weights and measures, 
or commodities ; to falsify a person's meaning. 
Making the ephah small, and the shekel great, &ad fal- 
sifying the balances by deceit. Amos viii. 5. 
Bardes which use to forge &ndfalsifye everything as they 
list, to please or displease any man. 
Spenser, State of Ireland. 
2. To make a false representation of; counter- 
feit; forge. 
Here also we saw the Steel Dyes of the Paduan Brothers, 
by which they stampt and falsified the best ancient Med- 
als so well that they are not to be distinguish! but by put- 
ting them into those Molfis. 
Lister, Journey to Paris, p. 124. 
3. To show to be erroneous or incorrect; dis- 
prove : as, the event falsified his words. 
Jews and Pagans united all their endeavours ... to 
baffle and falsify the prediction. Addison. 
4. To violate; break by falsehood or treachery: 
as, to falsify one's faith or word. 
As soon as he had got them within his reach, he falsified 
his faith. Knolles, Hist. Turks. 
5. To cause to fail or become false; baffle; 
make useless: as, to falsify a person's aim. 
falter 
His nvt is rash'd away ; his ample shield 
Isfatsify'd, and round with jav'lius lill'd. 
Dryden, .-Eneid. 
6f. To feign, as a blow. Same &s false, v. t., 5. 
Falsify a blow, Kalpli, falsify a blow ! the giant lies open 
on the left side. 
Beau, and Ft., Knight of Burning Pestle, ill. 4. 
7. Ill law : (a) To prove to be false, as a judg- 
ment ; avoid or defeat, (b) In equity, to show 
to be erroneous, as an item claimed on the credit 
side of an account To falsify a record, to injure 
a public record, as by suppressing or altering it, or by cer- 
tifying a copy of a document to be a true copy when it is 
known to be false in a material part. 
II. intrans. To tell falsehoods; lie; violate 
the truth. 
It is absolutely and universally unlawful to lie and/(- 
sify. South, Sermons. 
I am charged, I know, with gilding fact by fraud; 
I falsified and fabricated, wrote 
Myself down roughly richer than I prove. 
Broicniny, Ring and Book, I. 217. 
falsifyt (fal'si-fi), H. [< falsify, v.] In fencing, 
a feint ; a baffling thrust. 
How can he stand 
Upon his guard who hath fidlers in his head 
To which his feet must ever be a dancing? 
Beside, a falsify may spoil his cringe, 
Or making of a leg, in which consists 
Much of his court-perfection. 
Shirley (and Fletcher T), Coronation. 
falsingt, . [< ME.falsyiig; verbal n. ot false, 
.] Lying; falsehood. 
The cast, ne the couytise, come not of me, 
In pes & prosperitie to put me to wer, 
But of falsyny & flatery with thi fer cast. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 11328. 
falsism (fal'sizm), H. [< false + -ism. Cf. tru- 
ism.] A clear or self-evident falsity; a state- 
ment or assertion the falsity of which is plainly 
apparent : opposed to truism. [Rare.] 
If I say, " The strongest government is the best govern- 
ment," the proposition is a truism or & falsism, according 
to the import of the terms government, strongest, and 
best. G. //. Lewes, Probs. of Life and Mind, II. ii. 61. 
falsity (fal'si-ti), H. ; pi. falsities (-Hz). [< ME. 
falsete, falste, < OF . fausete, faulsete, mod. faus- 
sete = Vr.falsetat = Sp. falsedad = Fg.falsi- 
dade = It.falsita, < LL. falsita(t-)s, falsehood, 
< L. falsus, false : see false, a. The older noun 
in E. is falsehood.] 1. The character of being 
false ; contrariety or nonconformity to truth or 
fidelity ; falseness. 
That expediency-hypothesis of which we have already 
seen the/afe%. //. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 58. 
2. That which is false ; a falsehood ; a lie ; a 
false assertion. 
toy falsities and lies the greatest part 
Of mankind they corrupted to forsake 
God their Creator. Hilton, P. L., i. 367. 
= Syn. 1. Falsity, etc. (see falsehood); incorrectness, erro- 
neousness, fallaciousness. 
Falstaffian (fal'staf-i-an), a. Resembling Fal- 
staff, the fatknight in Shakspere's "Henry IV." 
and "Merry Wives of Windsor"; hence, cor- 
pulent; convivial; boasting; lying brazenly; 
coarsely jovial, etc. 
With a Falstaflian figure, a ripe voice, and a broad and 
comical face. ' Athenaeum, No. 3156, p. 509. 
falter 1 (fal'ter), v. i. [Formerly also faulter; 
< ME. falteren, faltren, tremble, totter, stam- 
mer, give way, a freq. verb (with suffix -erl), 
prob. < OF. "falter (not found) = Sp. Pg.faltar 
= It. faltare, fail, be deficient : see fault, v.] 
1. To be unsteady; tremble; totter: as, his 
legs falter. 
We gave out that if any man faultred in the Journey 
over Land he must expect to be shot to death. 
Dampier, Voyages, I. 2. 
This earth shall have a feeling, and these stones 
Prove armed soldiers, ere her native king 
Shall falter under foul rebellion's anus. 
SAa*.,Rich. II., Hi. 2. 
Has Nature, in her calm, majestic march, 
Faltered with age at last? Bryant, The Ages, v. 
2. To fail in accuracy, distinctness, or regular- 
ity of exercise or function ; fail or waver from 
physical or moral weakness, emotion, etc. 
Here, indeed, the power of distinct conception of space 
and distance falters. Is. Taylor. 
Why wilt thou shame me to confess to thee 
How far Ifalter'd from my quest and vow? 
Tennyson, Holy Grail. 
The glad soag falters to a wail. 
Whittier, Divine Compassion. 
3. To hesitate, especially to hesitate in the ut- 
terance of words ; speak with a broken or trem- 
bling utterance ; stammer : as, his tongue fal- 
ters. 
Made me most happy, faltering " I am thine." 
Tennyson, Gardener's Daughter. 
