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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
fealty \fe"al*ty\ (f[=e]"al*t[y^]), noun [OE. feaute, OF. feaut['e], fealt['e], feelt['e], feelteit, fr. L. fidelitas, fr. fidelis faithful. See {Feal}, and cf. Fidelity.]
1. Fidelity to one's lord; the feudal obligation by which the tenant or vassal was bound to be faithful to his lord; the special oath by which this obligation was assumed; fidelity to a superior power, or to a government; loyality. It is no longer the practice to exact the performance of fealty, as a feudal obligation. --Wharton (Law Dict.). --Tomlins.
2. Fidelity; constancy; faithfulness, as of a friend to a friend, or of a wife to her husband.
He should maintain fealty to God. --I. Taylor.
Makes wicked lightnings of her eyes, and saps The fealty of our friends. --tennyson.
Swore fealty to the new government. --Macaulay.
Note: Fealty is distinguished from {homage}, which is an acknowledgment of tenure, while fealty implies an oath. See {Homage}. --Wharton.
Syn: Homage; loyality; fidelity; constancy.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
fealty
noun: the loyalty that citizens owe to their country (or subjects to their sovereign) [syn: {allegiance}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
69 Moby Thesaurus words for "fealty": acquiescence, adherence, adhesion, allegiance, ardor, assigned task, attachment, bona fides, bond, bonne foi, bounden duty, burden, business, call of duty, charge, commitment, compliance, conformity, constancy, dedication, deference, dependability, devoir, devotedness, devotion, duteousness, duties and responsibilities, dutifulness, duty, ethics, faith, faithfulness, fidelity, firmness, good faith, homage, imperative, line of duty, loyalty, mission, must, obedience, obediency, obligation, observance, onus, ought, piety, place, reliability, respect, self-imposed duty, service, servility, servitium, staunchness, steadfastness, submission, submissiveness, suit and service, suit service, support, tie, troth, true blue, trueness, trustworthiness, truth, willingness
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