sooth 
*xiintlir) = tiw.mtHH = Dan. ,wrf= Goth, '.iiitlix 
(in deriv. millijun, xiitlijun, soothe) (cf. siniji-iiin. 
true, Kiiiijn, truth) = Bkt. xat (for *</), true 
(cf. w/tyrt (for *sai<tya), true, = Or. m<if, true), 
= L. *sen(t-)s, being, in i>riesi'H(t-).i, being be- 
fore, present, absen(t-)s, being away, absent. 
later en( -).*, being (8ee t-nx, i-nliti/); 'orig. ppr. 
of tlie verb represented by L. ease, Or. uvaj. 
Skt. V s, be (3d pers. pi. AS. xynd = O. xiiid 
= L. sun t = Skt.. .w//) : sec ) (are, wr), .vi/i 1 , 
From the L. form are ult. E. .;. i-ntili/, 
e, etc., present, absent, etc.; from theGr., 
ii, etc.; from the Skt., suttee.} 1. Being 
in accordance with truth ; conformed to fact ; 
true; real. [Obsolete, archaic, or Scotch in 
this and the following use.] 
God wot, thing Is never the lasse sooth, 
Thogh every wight ne may hit nat ysee. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 14. 
If thou speak'st false, 
Upon the next tree shall thou hang alive, 
Till famine cling thee ; if thy speech be sooth, 
I care not if thou dost for me as much. 
Shak., Macbeth, v. 6. 40. 
2. Truthful ; trustworthy ; reliable. 
The soothest shepherd that e'er piped on plains. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 823. 
A destined errant-knight I come, 
Announced by prophet sooth and old. 
Scott, L. oltheL.,1. 24. 
3. Soothing; agreeable; pleasing; delicious. 
[Rare.] 
Jellies soother than the creamy curd, 
And lucent syrops, tinct with cinnamon. 
Keats, Eve of St. Agnes, xxx. 
sooth (soth), n. [Early mod. E. also soothe ; < 
ME. sooth, sothe, soth, < AS. soth, the truth, < 
soth, true: see sooth, a.] 1. Truth; reality; 
fact. [Obsolete or archaic.] 
To say the sooth, . . . 
My people are with sickness much enfeebled. 
Shak., Hen. V., Hi. 6. 151. 
Found ye all your knights return'd, 
Or was there sooth in Arthur's prophecy? 
Tennyson, Holy Grail. 
2f. Soothsaying; prognostication. 
Tis inconuenient, mighty Potentate, . . . 
To scorne the sooth of science [astrology] with contempt. 
Greene, James IV., i. 1. 
The soothe of byrdes by beating of their wlnges. 
Spenser, Shep. Cal., December. 
3t. Cajolery ; fair speech ; blandishment. 
That e'er this tongue of mine, 
That laid the sentence of dread banishment 
On yon proud man, should take it off again 
With words of sooth! Shak., Rich. II., ill. 3. 136. 
With a sooth or two more I had effected it. 
They would have set it down under their hands. 
B. Jonson, Epicoene, v. 1. 
For sooth. See forsooth. In good sooth, i" good truth ; 
in reality. 
Eude, in sooth ; in good sooth, very rude. 
Shak., T. and C., 111. 1. 60. 
In SOOtb, in truth ; in fact ; indeed ; truly. 
In sothe too me the matire queynte is ; 
For as too hem i toke none hede. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 50. 
In sooth, I know not why I am so sad ; 
It wearies me. Shak., M. of V., L 1. 
sooth, v. See soothe. 
sooth (soth), adv. [< ME. sortie; < sooth, a.] If. 
Truly; truthfully. 
He that seith most sothest sonnest ys y-blamed. 
Piers Plowman (C), iv. 439. 
2. In sooth; indeed: often used interjection- 
ally. 
Yes, sooth ; and so do you. Shak., M. N. D., HI. 2. 265. 
And, sooth, 
Twere Christian mercy to finish him, Ruth. 
Whittier, Hogg Megone, i. 
soothe (SOTH), v. ; pret. and pp. soothed, ppr. 
soothing. [Also sooth; < ME. sothieii, isothien, 
confirm, verify, < AS. ge-sothian, prove to be 
true, confirm (cf. gesoth, a parasite, flatterer, 
in a gloss) (= Icel. Sw. sanna = Dan. sande, 
verify, = Goth, suthjan, suthjon, soothe), < soth, 
true: see sooth, a.] I. traits. If. To prove 
true; verify; confirm as truth. 
Ich hit wulle sothien 
Ase ich hit bi write suggen. 
Layamon, 1. 8491. 
Then must I sooth it, what euer it is ; 
For what he sayth or doth can not be amisse. 
Udatt, Roister Doister, i. 1. 
This affirmation of the archbishop, being greatlie soothed 
out with his craftie vtterance, . .. confirmed by the French 
freends. 
Harrison, Descrip. of Eng., ii. 1 (Holinshed's Chron., I.). 
2f. To confirm the statements of; maintain 
the truthfulness of (a person) ; bear out. 
5771 
Sooth me In all I say ; 
There s a main end in it. 
Massinger, Duke of Milan, v : 
3f. To assent to; yield to; humor by agree- 
ment or concession. 
Sooth, to natter immoderatelif, or hold vp one in liis 
talke, and antrme It to be true which he speakelh. 
I'.nrrt, 1580. 
Is't good toiwothe him in these- oontnv 
Xhitk., r. c,l K., iv. 4. 82. 
I am of the Number of those that h:t<l nitlii-i rc.inmrinl 
the Virtue of an Enemy than tooth tin- Virrs of a Kric n.l. 
Uowelt, Letters, I. v. 11. 
4. To keep in good humor; wheedle; cajole: 
flatter. 
An envious wretch, 
That glitters only to his soothed self. 
I!, Joiuun, Cynthia's Revels, v. 3. 
They may build castles in the air for a time, and tooth 
up themselves with phantasticul and pleasant humours. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 153. 
Our government is soothed with a reservation in its favor. 
Burke, Rev. In France. 
5. To restore to ease, comfort, or tranquillity; 
relieve; calm; quiet; refresh. 
Satan . . . 
At length, collecting all his serpent wiles, 
With southing words renew'd him thus accosts. 
Milton, P. R.. iii. ii. 
Music has charms to sooth a savage breast. 
Congreve, Mourning Bride (ed. 1710), i. 1. 
A cloud may soothe the eye made blind by blaze. 
Browning, Ring and Book, II. 217. 
It may be my lord is weary, that his brain Is overwrought ; 
Soothe him with thy finer fancies, touch him with thy 
lighter thought. Tennyson, Locksley Hall. 
6. To allay; assuage; mitigate; soften. 
Still there is room for pity to abate 
And soothe the sorrows of so sad a state. 
Cowper, Charity, I. 199. 
I will watch thee, tend thee, soothe thy pain. 
U. Arnold, Tristram and Iseult, Ii. 
7. To smooth over; render less obnoxious. 
[Rare.] 
What ! has your king married the Lady Grey? 
And now, to soothe your forgery and his, 
Sends me a paper to persuade me patience? 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., ill. 8. 175. 
=Syn. 5 and 6. To compose, tranqullize, pacify, ease, al- 
leviate. 
II. intraus. If. To temporize by assent, con- 
cession, flattery, or cajolery. 
Else would not soothing glosers oil the son, 
Who, while his father livM, his acts did hate. 
Midileton, Father Hubbard's Tales. 
2. To have a comforting or tranquilizing in- 
fluence. 
O for thy voice to soothe or bless ! 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, Ivi. 
soother (so'TH6r), . [< soothe + -er 1 .] One 
who or that which soothes; especially (in ob- 
solete use), a flatterer. 
By God, I cannot flatter ; I do defy 
The tongues of soothers. 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., iv. 1. 7. 
soothfast (soth'fast), . [Formerly also, er- 
roneously, southfast; < ME. sothfast, sothfest, < 
AS. sothfsest, < soth, sooth, true, + fsest, fast, 
firm. Cf. steadfast, shamefast.] 1. Truthful; 
veracious; honest. 
We witen that thou art sothfast, and reckist not of ony 
man. . . but thou techist the weie of God In treuthe. 
Wyclif, Mark \ii. 14. 
Edie was ken'd to me ... for a true, loyal, and soothfast 
man. Scott, Antiquary, xxv. 
2. True; veritable; worthy of belief. 
gif thou woldest leue on him 
That on the rode dide thl kyn, 
That he is sothefast Godes sone. 
King Horn (E. E. T. 8.), p. 98. 
It was a southfast sentence long agoe 
That hastie men shall never lacke much woe. 
Mir. for Mags. , p. 464. (Nares. ) 
3. Veritable; certain; real. 
Ye (Love] holden regne and nous in uuitee, 
Ye sothfast cause of frendshipe ben also. 
Chaucer, TroUus, Hi. 30. 
4. Faithful ; loyal ; steadfast. 
Thus manle yeares were spent with good and soothfast life, 
Twixt Arhundle that worthie knight and his approued 
wife 
Turberville, Upon the Death of Elizabeth Arhundle. 
[(Richardson.) 
[Obsolete or archaic in all uses.] 
soothfastly (soth'fast-li), adv. [< ME. sotli- 
fastUke; < soothfast + -ty2.] Truly; in or with 
truth. Ormulum, 1. 2995. [Obsolete or archaic.] 
But, if I were to come, wad ye really and soothfastly pay 
me the siller? Scott, Rob Roy, xxlif. 
SOOthfastness (soth'fast-nes), n. [< ME. sotli- 
f'astnesse, < AS. sdthfsentiies, < sothfsest, true : 
see soothfast and -ness.'] The property or char- 
soothsayer 
acterof lie in" -.< M.I h fast or inn-; truth. '/,. 
Troilu>, iv. lo.so. [Obsolete or archuir.J 
SOOthfult (sdth'lul i. 11. [< MK. mthfiil: < math 
+ -ful.] Soothfast : true. 
He.- may dn no thynk but ryjt, 
A- M .Mn u [n : i your inesse, 
111 ,t/lflll KI,S|II'I C.I ' 
Ml,' i. 4W7. 
SOOthfullyt (>oth'fl-i), <ii/r. [< MK. muithfulli/ 
(KentMi :i,llii-i,/li,-ln i; < .inntlifiil + -/</-.] Truly; 
verily; indeed. ^ymM(eo//mry((.E.n 
p, 138. 
soothheadt (sdth'he.i), . (< MK. *<,ti,i<>,t, 
( Kent i>li :.iitliln ili-r, < mnitli + -lntnt.~] Sooth- 
ness; truth. Ai/mlnt, ,,f linn// (K. E. T. 8.), 
p. 10."). 
soothing (Hii'Tiiiug), . [Verbal 11. of soothe, 
f.] The act of one who soothes; that which 
soothes. 
[.1. .1 -i. mills 
Soft-wafted on the zephyr's fancy'd wing, 
Steal tuneful the easy ear. 
M". TlttnnjHton, Sickness, v. 
soothingly (so'THing-li), mlr. In a soothing 
manner, 
soothingness (so'THing-ues), . The quality 
or character of being soothing. Lowell, N. A'. 
Rev.. CXX. 378. 
SOOthlyt (sSth'li), a. [< sooth + -lyl.] True. 
Dear was the klndlle love which Kathrln bore 
This crooked ronion, for in wothly guise 
She was her genius and her counsellor. 
Mickle, Syr Martyu, L 46. 
SOOthly (soth'li), adr. [< ME. soothly, sothly. 
sothely, sothlich, sothliche, < AS. sothlice, truly, 
verily, indeed, < soth, true: see sooth.'] 1. In 
a truthful manner; with truth. Ayenbiteof I- 
tcyt (E. E. T. S.), p. 74. 
Then view St. David's ruin'd pile ; 
And, home-returning, soothly swear, 
Was never scene so sad and fair ! 
Scott, L. of L. M., a 1. 
2. In truth; as a matter of fact ; indeed. 
I nam no goddesse, soothly, quod she tho. 
Chaucer, Good Women, I. 9)39. 
Ne soothlich is it easie for to read 
Where now on earth, or how, he may be fownd. 
Spenser, F. Q., III. ii. 14. 
[Obsolete or archaic in both uses.] 
SOOthnesst (sSth'nes), n. [< ME. sothnesse, 
sothenesse ; < sooth + ness.'] The state or prop- 
erty of being true, (a) Conformity with fact 
I wool wel that God makere and mayster is governor 
of his werk, ne never nas yit daye that mihte put me owt 
of the sothnesse of that sentence. 
Chaucer, Boethius, L prose 6. 
(6) Truthfulness ; faithfulness ; righteousness. 
Gregorie wist this well and wilned to my sonle 
Sauacioun, for sotheneae that he selgh in my werkes. 
Piers Plowman (K), xt 142. 
(c) Reality ; earnest. 
Seistow this to me 
In sothnesse, or in dreem I herkne this? 
Chaucer, Second Nun's Tale, L 261. 
SOOth-sawt (sBth'sa), . [ME. sothesaice, soth- 
xage (= Icel. sannsaga), truth-telling, sooth- 
saying (cf. ME. sothsawel, sothsagel, a., truth- 
telling), < AS. soth, truth, sooth, + saga, say- 
ing, saw: see sooth and saic'^. Cf. soothsay, n.~] 
A true saying; truth. 
Of Loves folke mo tydinges, 
Both gothf-saicfS and lesynges. 
Chaucer, House of Fame, L 676. 
soothsay (sfith'sa), r. t. [< sooth + nay 1 , after 
the noun soothsayer.'] To foretell the future ; 
make predictions. 
I'luir. E'en as the o'erflowing Nilus presageth famine. 
Iras. Go, you wild bedfellow, you cannot sootluny. 
Shak., A. and C., i. -2. :>!. 
By scaly Triton's winding shell, 
And old soothsaying Glaucus' spell. 
Miltnii. Comus, 1. 874. 
SOOthsayt (sSth'sa), n. [< soothsay, v. Cf. 
sooth-saw. ] . 1 . Soothsaying ; prediction ; prog- 
nostication; prophecy. 
Shewes, visions, sooth-saye*. and prophesies ; 
And all that famed is, as leasinss, tales, and lies. 
Spenter, F. Q., II. Ix. 61. 
2. A portent; an omen. 
And, but God turne the same to good nxith-say, 
That Ladies safetie is sore to be dradd. 
Spenser, F. Q., III. vlll. 50. 
soothsayer (soth'sa"er), . [Formerly also 
erroneously, southsayer ; < ME. sothsaier (Kent- 
ish zothziggere); < sooth + sni/erl.] If. One 
who tells the truth ; a truthful person. 
The sothsaier tho was lefe. 
Which wolde nought the trouthe spare. 
Qoutr, Coat. Amant, III. 164. 
2. One who prognosticates; a diviner: gener- 
ally used of a pretender to prophetic power*. 
