English
lealty
Lealty 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’
- Englishearliest quotation 1885lealty5
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 lealty
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1885, Richard Francis Burton, Shammar edition: “[…] and kissed King Hasan's hands and did homage…”.
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 lealty‘loyalty’
- Englishearliest quotation 1885lealtyWiktionary, English lealty. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1885, Richard Francis Burton, Shammar edition: “[…] and kissed King Hasan's hands and did homage…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’
law, low, lie, fellow, lawyer, layer, log, litter, ledger, lair, ledge, lawless, lees, lig, underlay, lagan, lias, leaguer, 17 more
through Proto-Italic *lēks ‘law’
through Latin lex ‘the legal machinery of a state, the law’
college, lay, illegal, legacy, delegation, colleague, delegate, collegiate, lex, legate, collegium, 7 more
through Latin lēgālis ‘legal’
through Old French loial ‘loyal’
through Old French loiauté ‘loyalty’
Today it means
noun loyalty, fealty
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “lealty”; 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- / lealty