Have you ever pretended to love a holiday gift, even though it’s something you didn’t need? Or complimented a friend’s outfit, despite the fact that it’s not really your style? If so, you told a white lie: “a lie about a small or unimportant matter that someone tells to avoid hurting another person.” While this term holds a place in the modern lexicon, its origins are centuries old.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, one of the earliest known written examples of the phrase dates to April 10, 1567. It appeared in a letter sent by one Ralph Adderley to a Sir Nicholas Bagnall, reading: “I do assure you he is unsuspected of any untruth or other notable crime (except a white lie) which is taken for a Small fault in these parts.” But we don’t know that Adderley coined the term, just that he penned an early surviving example.
The origins of “white lie” are believed to stem from ancient associations between light and purity or good, whereas darkness often represented evil. Things that were described as white or portrayed in lighter hues were considered less likely to cause harm. The phrase “white lie,” even in the 16th-century context, suggests that the fib being told is more pure in its intentions and thus less likely to hurt anyone’s feelings.
This begs the question: Did people ever use “black lie” to describe more malicious lies? Yes, as evidenced by a 1741 gossip column from The Gentleman’s Magazine. An excerpt reads: “certain Lady of the highest quality … makes a judicious distinction between a white and a black Lie.” But while the more nefarious “black lie” has largely faded from use, people still have use for the wholesome “white lie,” and it remains in the modern lexicon.
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