l]
| 1. | faithful to one's sovereign, government, or state: a loyal subject. |
| 2. | faithful to one's oath, commitments, or obligations: to be loyal to a vow. |
| 3. | faithful to any leader, party, or cause, or to any person or thing conceived as deserving fidelity: a loyal friend. |
| 4. | characterized by or showing faithfulness to commitments, vows, allegiance, obligations, etc.: loyal conduct. |
loy·al (loi'əl) adj.
[French, from Old French leial, loial, from Latin lēgālis, legal, from lēx, lēg-, law; see leg- in Indo-European roots.] loy'al·ly adv. |