Adherence

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ədˈhɪə.ɹəns/

Definitions

1. The quality of being devoted to following rules, guidelines, or principles, while also maintaining a strong attachment to a specific surface or object
2. The state of being loyal to certain beliefs or people and the action of securely attaching to a physical surface
3. The act or quality of consistently following set rules or principles ; the physical condition of one material being firmly attached to another

Etymology: Latin "haerēre" meant "to stick" or "to cling," and "adhaerēre" added the prefix "ad-" ("to" or "toward") to mean "to stick to." From its present participle "adhaerēns" came the abstract noun "adhaerentia," the act or state of sticking fast. That noun passed into Middle French as "adhérence" before reaching English as "adherence," so the word's sense of holding firmly to something physical came first, and the sense of loyalty to a person or belief grew out of that same image of clinging. The verb "haerēre" is also the source of "hesitate," which some readers would not expect. Its original idea of sticking in place was extended, in Latin, to a mind that sticks and cannot move forward, and "haesitāre" ended up meaning to be stuck in indecision. The two words share the root image of being fixed in one spot, though English reached "hesitate" by a separate route.

Synonyms: attachment, loyalty

Antonyms: disloyalty, abandonment