c. 1300, falshede, "deceitfulness," also "a lie; that which is false," from false + -hood. Formed on the same pattern are Old Frisian falschede, Dutch valschheid, German Falschheit, Swedish falskhet. Former noun forms in English, now extinct, included falsage "wrongdoing" (late 15c.), falsdom "deceitfulness, treachery; a lie" (c. 1300), fals-lek "falsehood" (early 14c.), falsshipe "deceitfulness, dishonesty" (c. 1200).
