False1, a.
a. [compar. FALSER; superl. FALSEST.] [Lat. falsus, p. p. of fallere, falsum, to deceive; O. Fr. fals, N. Fr. faux, Pr. fals, Sp., Pg., & It. falso; whence A-S. false, Ger. falsch, D. valsch, Sw. & Dan. falsk.]
Sense 1. Uttering falsehood; unveracious; given to deceit; dishonest; as, a false witness; a false historian, and the like.
Sense 2. Not faithful or loyal, as to obligations, allegiance, vows, and the like; treacherous; perfidious; as, a false friend, lover, or subject; false to promises.
I to myself was false, ere thou to me. Milton.
Sense 3. Not according with truth or reality; not true; fitted or likely to deceive or disappoint; treacherous; deceitful; inconstant; unfaithful; as, a false statement; a false measure or weight.
Sense 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.
Sense 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.
Sense 6. (Mus.) Not in tune.
False attic (Arch.), an attic without pilasters, casements, or balustrades, used for crowning a building. Gwilt. — False cadence, an imperfect or interrupted cadence. — False conception (Med.), an abnormal conception in which a misshapen fleshy mass is produced instead of a well-organized fetus. — False fire, a combustible composition, used in vessels of war to make signals during the night. Totten. — 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 used below the main keel, to serve both as a defense and an aid in holding the wind better. Totten. — False pretenses, false representations made with a view to obtain money or goods with intent to cheat. Bouvier. — False rail (Naut.), a thin piece of timber inside of a curved head-rail. Ogilvie. — 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 roof (Arch.), that part between the ceiling of the upper floor and the covering of the roof. Gwilt. — False token, a false document or sign of the existence of a fact, used for fraudulent purposes. Burrill. — False work (Civil Engin.), a temporary bridge or scaffolding, by the aid of which the permanent structure is erected.