noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/əˈliː.d͡ʒəns/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:AH0 L IY1 JH AH0 N S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Loyalty or commitment to a cause, group, nation or of a subordinate to a superior.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
the loyalty that citizens owe to their country (or subjects to their sovereign)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: fealty
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: loyalty, trueness
History
Etymology
From Middle English alegiaunce, from Anglo-Norman alegaunce (“loyalty of a liege-servant to one's lord”), variant of Old French ligeance, from lige (“vassal, liegeman”). More at liege.
Across languages
Translations
67 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
اِنْتِمَاء
(intimāʔ)
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Bulgarian:
вярност
(vjarnost)
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Bulgarian:
преданост
(predanost)
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Bulgarian:
лоялност
(lojalnost)
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Catalan:
lleialtat
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Catalan:
fidelitat
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Chinese Mandarin:
忠誠 /忠诚
(zhōngchéng)
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Czech:
oddanost
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Danish:
troskap
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Dutch:
trouw
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Dutch:
getrouwheid
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Dutch:
loyaliteit
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Dutch:
trouwhartigheid
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Dutch:
aanhang
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Esperanto:
fideleco
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Faroese:
trúskapur
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Finnish:
kuuliaisuus
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Finnish:
uskollisuus
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
French:
fidélité
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
French:
loyauté
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
French:
allégeance
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
German:
Treue
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
German:
Loyalität
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
German:
Treuherzigkeit
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
German:
Gefolgschaft
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
German:
Gefolgschaftstreue
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Hebrew:
נֶאֱמָנוּת
(neemanút)
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Irish:
dílseacht
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Italian:
fedeltà
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Italian:
lealtà
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Japanese:
忠誠
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Korean:
충성
(chungseong)
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Latin:
allegiantia
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Latin:
fidēlitās
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Latin:
fidēs
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Latin:
dēvōtiō
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Latin:
obsequium
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Māori:
piripono
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Middle English:
legiaunce
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Middle English:
alegiaunce
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Norwegian Bokmål:
troskap
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Norwegian Bokmål:
truskap
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Norwegian Nynorsk:
truskap
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Papiamentu:
fidelidat
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Persian:
تعهد
(ta'ahhod)
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Persian:
وفاداری
(vafâdâri)
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Polish:
wierność
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Polish:
posłuszeństwo
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Polish:
lojalność
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Portuguese:
fidelidade
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Portuguese:
lealdade
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Portuguese:
adesão
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Portuguese:
filiação
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Romanian:
fidelitate
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Romanian:
loialitate
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Romanian:
credință
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Russian:
ве́рность
(vérnostʹ)
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Russian:
пре́данность
(prédannostʹ)
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Serbo-Croatian:
odanost
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Serbo-Croatian:
lojalnost
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Serbo-Croatian:
predanost
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Slovene:
zvestoba
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Spanish:
fidelidad
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Spanish:
lealtad
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Spanish:
pleitesía (disused)
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Swedish:
lojalitet
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
Swedish:
trohet
— loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler
