English
disloyalty
Disloyalty comes from Old French loiauté ‘loyalty’, from Latin lēgālis ‘legal’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-1‘to lie’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lḗgʰs1uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*lēks1‘law’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElex2‘the legal machinery of a state, the law’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgālis3‘legal’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400loial4‘loyal’by way of Latin legālis
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400loiauté5‘loyalty’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400desloiauté5
- Englishtodaydisloyalty5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin lex
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin legalis
- 3 Wiktionary, Old French loial
- 4 Wiktionary, Old French loiauté
- 5 Wiktionary, English disloyalty
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-Wiktionary, Latin lex‘to lie’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lḗgʰsWiktionary, Latin lexuncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*lēksWiktionary, Latin lex‘law’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElexWiktionary, Latin legalis‘the legal machinery of a state, the law’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgālisWiktionary, Old French loial‘legal’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400loialWiktionary, Old French loiauté‘loyal’by way of Latin legālis
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400loiautéWiktionary, English disloyalty‘loyalty’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400desloiautéWiktionary, English disloyalty
- EnglishtodaydisloyaltyWiktionary, English disloyalty
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’
law, low, lie, lawyer, fellow, layer, log, litter, ledger, ledge, lawless, lair, lees, leaguer, lig, underlay, lagan, lias, 18 more
through Proto-Italic *lēks ‘law’
through Latin lex ‘the legal machinery of a state, the law’
college, lay, illegal, legacy, colleague, delegation, delegate, lex, collegiate, legate, collegium, 8 more
through Latin lēgālis ‘legal’
through Old French loial ‘loyal’
Today it means
noun An act of being disloyal; a betrayal, faithbreach.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “disloyalty”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin lex, Latin legalis, Old French loial, Old French loiauté. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- / disloyalty