False (?), a. [Compar. Falser (?); superl. Falsest.] [L. falsus, p.p. of fallere to deceive; cf. OF. faus, fals, F. faux, and AS. fals fraud. See Fail, Fall.] 1. Uttering falsehood; unveracious; given to deceit; dishnest; as, a false witness.
2. Not faithful or loyal, as to obligations, allegiance, vows, etc.; untrue; treacherous; perfidious; as, a false friend, lover, or subject; false to promises.
I to myself was false, ere thou to me.
Milton.
3. Not according with truth or reality; not true; fitted or likely to deceive or disappoint; as, a false statement.
4. Not genuine or real; assumed or designed to deceive; counterfeit; hypocritical; as, false tears; false modesty; false colors; false jewelry.
False face must hide what the false heart doth know.
Shak.
5. Not well founded; not firm or trustworthy; erroneous; as, a false claim; a false conclusion; a false construction in grammar.
Whose false foundation waves have swept away.
Spenser.
6. Not essential or permanent, as parts of a structure which are temporary or supplemental.
7. Mus. Not in tune.
False arch Arch., a member having the appearance of an arch, though not of arch construction. -- False attic, an architectural erection above the main cornice, concealing a roof, but not having windows or inclosing rooms. -- False bearing, any bearing which is not directly upon a vertical support; thus, the weight carried by a corbel has a false bearing. -- False cadence, an imperfect or interrupted cadence. -- False conception Med., an abnormal conception in which a mole, or misshapen fleshy mass, is produced instead of a properly organized fetus. -- False croup Med., a spasmodic affection of the larynx attended with the symptoms of membranous croup, but unassociated with the deposit of a fibrinous membrane. -- False door ∨ window Arch., the representation of a door or window, inserted to complete a series of doors or windows or to give symmetry. -- False fire, a combustible carried by vessels of war, chiefly for signaling, but sometimes burned for the purpose of deceiving an enemy; also, a light on shore for decoying a vessel to destruction. -- False galena. See Blende. -- False imprisonment Law, the arrest and imprisonment of a person without warrant or cause, or contrary to law; or the unlawful detaining of a person in custody. -- False keel Naut., the timber below the main keel, used to serve both as a protection and to increase the shio's lateral resistance. -- False key, a picklock. -- False leg. Zool. See Proleg. -- False membrane Med., the fibrinous deposit formed in croup and diphtheria, and resembling in appearance an animal membrane. -- False papers Naut., documents carried by a ship giving false representations respecting her cargo, destination, ect., for the purpose of deceiving. -- False passage Surg., an unnatural passage leading off from a natural canal, such as the urethra, and produced usually by the unskillful introduction of instruments. -- False personation Law, the intentional false assumption of the name and personality of another. -- False pretenses Law, false representations concerning past or present facts and events, for the purpose of defrauding another. -- False rail Naut., a thin piece of timber placed on top of the head rail to strengthen it. -- False relation Mus., a progression in harmony, in which a certain note in a chord appears in the next chord prefixed by a flat or sharp. -- False return Law, an untrue return made to a process by the officer to whom it was delivered for execution. -- False ribs Anat., the asternal rebs, of which there are five pairs in man. -- False roof Arch., the space between the upper ceiling and the roof. Oxford Gloss. -- False token, a false mark or other symbol, used for fraudulent purposes. -- False scorpion Zool., any arachnid of the genus Chelifer. See Book scorpion. -- False tack Naut., a coming up into the wind and filling away again on the same tack. -- False vampire Zool., the Vampyrus spectrum of South America, formerly erroneously supposed to have blood-sucking habits; -- called also vampire, and ghost vampire. The genuine blood-sucking bats belong to the genera Desmodus and Diphylla. See Vampire. -- False window. Arch. See False door, above. -- False wing. Zool. See Alula, and Bastard wing, under Bastard. -- False works Civil Engin., construction works to facilitate the erection of the main work, as scaffolding, bridge centering, etc.
© Webster 1913.
False, adv. Not truly; not honestly; falsely. "You play me false."
Shak.
© Webster 1913.
False, v. t. [L. falsare to falsify, fr. falsus: cf. F. fausser. See False, a.] 1. To report falsely; to falsify. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
2. To betray; to falsify. [Obs.]
[He] hath his truthe falsed in this wise.
Chaucer.
3. To mislead by want of truth; to deceive. [Obs.]
In his falsed fancy.
Spenser.
4. To feign; to pretend to make. [Obs.] "And falsed oft his blows."
Spenser.
© Webster 1913. | 
