Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

False \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 or 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}. (Zo["o]l.) 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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}. (Zo["o]l.) 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.