allegiance

Pronunciation: /əˈliː.d͡ʒəns/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action
  2. noun the loyalty that citizens owe to their country (or subjects to their sovereign)

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

commitment, loyalty, dedication

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
cooperation
Narrower (hyponyms)
faith, devotion, consecration, enlistment, communalism

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