Allegeances

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Commitments to support or loyalty toward a person, group, cause, or country; declarations of fidelity or duty; expressed or assumed obligations to uphold certain principles or affiliations
2. Pledges of loyalty and support to entities such as governments, organizations, or ideals; stated or implied duties of allegiance; bonds formed by declarations of trust or faithfulness
3. Official or personal commitments to stand by or defend someone or something; acknowledgments of attachment or responsibility; avowals of fidelity toward a nation, group, or concept

Etymology: "Allegeances" is the plural of "allegeance," an older spelling of "allegiance" that English borrowed from Old French as "alegeance" and recorded in Middle English as "allegeaunce" or "alleggeaunce." The plural simply counts separate pledges of loyalty, so a writer describing several oaths, duties, or bonds of faithfulness would reach for this form. The root idea is the Old French verb "alegier," meaning to relieve or to lighten a burden, which carried the sense of answering for someone or freeing oneself from a claim. Over the centuries the word shifted from that sense of legal obligation toward the sense of loyalty owed to a lord, a king, or a cause. The spelling "allegeance" survived in English alongside "allegiance" for some time before the shorter form became the standard one.

Synonyms: allegiances, loyalties, fealties, devotions, commitments

Antonyms: betrayals, disloyalties, treacheries