 |
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Allegiance \Al*le"giance\, noun [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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
allegiance
noun
1: the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action; "his long commitment to public service"; "they felt no loyalty to a losing team" [syn: {commitment}, {loyalty}, {dedication}]
2: the loyalty that citizens owe to their country (or subjects to their sovereign) [syn: {fealty}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
65 Moby Thesaurus words for "allegiance": acquiescence, adherence, adhesion, assigned task, attachment, bona fides, bond, bonne foi, bounden duty, burden, business, call of duty, charge, commitment, compliance, conformity, consecration, constancy, dedication, deference, devoir, devotedness, devotion, duteousness, duties and responsibilities, dutifulness, duty, ethics, faith, faithfulness, fealty, fidelity, firmness, good faith, homage, honor, imperative, line of duty, loyalty, mission, must, obedience, obediency, obligation, observance, onus, ought, piety, place, respect, self-imposed duty, service, servility, servitium, staunchness, steadfastness, submission, submissiveness, suit and service, suit service, tie, troth, true blue, trueness, willingness
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
ALLEGIANCE, noun
This thing Allegiance, as I suppose, Is a ring fitted in the subject's nose, Whereby that organ is kept rightly pointed To smell the sweetness of the Lord's anointed. G.J.
 |
Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |