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allegiance - 4 dictionary results
al⋅le⋅giance
[uh-lee-juh
ns] 
–noun
| 1. | the loyalty of a citizen to his or her government or of a subject to his or her sovereign. |
| 2. | loyalty or devotion to some person, group, cause, or the like. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To allegiance
| al·le·giance (ə-lē'jəns) n.
[Middle English alligeaunce, alteration of ligeaunce, from Old French ligeance, from lige, liege; see liege.] al·le'giant adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Allegiance
Al*le"giance\, n. [OE. alegeaunce; pref. a- + OF. lige, liege. The meaning was influenced by L. ligare to bind, and even by lex, legis, law. See Liege, Ligeance.]1. The tie or obligation, implied or expressed, which a subject owes to his sovereign or government; the duty of fidelity to one's king, government, or state. 2. Devotion; loyalty; as, allegiance to science. Syn: Loyalty; fealty. Usage: Allegiance, Loyalty. These words agree in expressing the general idea of fidelity and attachment to the "powers that be." Allegiance is an obligation to a ruling power. Loyalty is a feeling or sentiment towards such power. Allegiance may exist under any form of government, and, in a republic, we generally speak of allegiance to the government, to the state, etc. In well conducted monarchies, loyalty is a warm-hearted feeling of fidelity and obedience to the sovereign. It is personal in its nature; and hence we speak of the loyalty of a wife to her husband, not of her allegiance. In cases where we personify, loyalty is more commonly the word used; as, loyalty to the constitution; loyalty to the cause of virtue; loyalty to truth and religion, etc. Hear me, recreant, on thine allegiance hear me! --Shak. So spake the Seraph Abdiel, faithful found, . . . Unshaken, unseduced, unterrified, His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal. --Milton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : allegiance
Spanish:
lealtad,
German:
die Treue,die Anhänglichkeit,
Japanese:
忠誠
allegiance
1399, from Anglo-Fr. legaunce "loyalty of a liege-man to his lord," from O.Fr. legeance, from liege (see liege); erroneously associated with L. ligare "to bind;" corrupted in spelling by confusion with the now-obsolete legal term allegeance "alleviation." General fig. sense of "recognition of claims to respect or duty" is attested from 1732.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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