Origin: 1275–1325; Middle English alleg(g)en, probably < Old French aleguer (< Medieval Latin, Latin allēgāre to adduce in support of a plea; see allegation), conflated with Anglo-French, Old French aleg(i)er to justify, free, literally, to lighten (< Late Latin alleviāre;see alleviate); homonymous Middle English v. alleg(g)en, with literal sense of Old French aleg(i)er, replaced by allay in 16th cent.
Related forms
al·lege·a·ble, adjective
al·leg·er, noun
mis·al·lege, verb (used with object), mis·al·leged, mis·al·leg·ing.
pre·al·lege, verb (used with object), pre·al·leged, pre·al·leg·ing.
re·al·lege, verb (used with object), re·al·leged, re·al·leg·ing.
c.1300; it has the form of one O.Fr. verb and the meaning of another. The form is Anglo-Fr. aleger, from O.Fr. eslegier "to clear at law," from L. ex- "out of" and litigare "bring suit" (see litigate), but eslegier meant "acquit, clear of charges in a lawsuit." It somehow
acquired the meaning of Fr. alléguer, from L. allegare "send for, to bring forth, name, produce in evidence," from ad- "to" + legare "to depute, send" (see legate).