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lie²

(lī)

1. A false statement deliberately presented as being true; a falsehood.

2. Something meant to deceive or mistakenly accepted as true: learned his parents had been swindlers and felt his whole childhood had been a lie.

v. lied, ly·ing (līĭng), lies

v.intr.

1. To present false information with the intention of deceiving.

2. To convey a false image or impression: Appearances often lie.

v.tr.

To say or write as a lie.

Idiom:

lie through (one's) teeth

To lie outrageously or brazenly.

[Middle English, from Old English lyge; see leugh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: lie², equivocate, fib, prevaricate
These verbs mean to evade or depart from the truth: a witness who lied under oath; didn't equivocate about her real purpose; fibbed to escape being scolded; didn't prevaricate but answered honestly.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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