Falso

Falso is a term used in several Romance languages, notably Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, to indicate that something is not true, incorrect, or designed to deceive. It can describe statements, claims, or information that lacks veracity, as in information falsa, noticia falsa, or acusación falsa. The same word can also signify counterfeit or imitation when referring to goods, such as billete falso or producto falso.

Etymology and forms: The word derives from Latin falsus, meaning deceitful, from which the English word false also descends. In these languages, falso varies by gender: masculine falso, feminine falsa, with plural falsos or falsas.

Usage across domains: In everyday speech and media, falso signals lack of truth. In law and science, terms like falso positivo and falso negativo describe erroneous results. In logic and philosophy, falso denotes the truth value false, the negation of verdadero (true). In linguistics and language learning, the term falsos amigos (false friends) refers to words in different languages that look similar but have different meanings.

Falso as a concept also appears in discussions of misinformation, counterfeiting, and authenticity, where distinguishing between lo verdadero and lo falso is central. The word operates across contexts to label non-verity, deception, or imitation, and it forms part of common phrases used to critique reliability and trustworthiness.

See also: falsehood, misinformation, counterfeit, truth, falsos amigos.