Word of the Day for Wednesday, October 3, 2012

true \troo\,
verb:

1. To make true; shape, adjust, place, etc., exactly or accurately: to true the wheels of a bicycle after striking a pothole.

2. (Especially in carpentry) to make even, symmetrical, level, etc. (often followed by up): to true up the sides of a door.

Have your shop replace the spoke and true the wheel, and make sure they check all spokes for signs of damage or wear.
-- Wes Hobson, Clark Campbell, Michael F. Vickers, "Swim, Bike, Run"

…fresh new magazines, in stacks lovingly squared and trued, waited on shelves cunningly sited just inside the front door.
-- Robert Sampson, "Yesterday's Faces"

But in its inner chamber, it's about the way the mind fetishizes the smallest acts—the gears that keep life trued—even as our bodies enter a final winter.
-- "Paul Harding, Tinkers"

True, in the common sense of "real and authentic," has been in the English language since at least the 1200s. The less-common verb form of the word was first used in the 1840s, particularly with reference to mechanics.

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