Etymograph

English

loyalty

Loyalty comes from Old French loialte, from loial ‘loyal’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-1‘to lie’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lḗgʰs1uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*lēks1‘law’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElex2‘the legal machinery of a state, the law’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgālis3‘legal’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400loial4‘loyal’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400loialte4
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500loialte4
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2007loyalty4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin lex
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin legalis
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old French loial
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English loyalty
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Michael P. Knowles: “Over the violence and the proud loyalties, over the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-Wiktionary, Latin lex‘to lie’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lḗgʰsWiktionary, Latin lexuncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*lēksWiktionary, Latin lex‘law’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElexWiktionary, Latin legalis‘the legal machinery of a state, the law’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgālisWiktionary, Old French loial‘legal’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400loialWiktionary, English loyalty‘loyal’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400loialteWiktionary, English loyalty
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500loialteWiktionary, English loyalty
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2007loyaltyWiktionary, English loyalty. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Michael P. Knowles: “Over the violence and the proud loyalties, over the…”

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, 19 more

through Proto-Italic *lēks ‘law’

relegate, illegality, 7 more

through Latin lex ‘the legal machinery of a state, the law’

college, lay, illegal, legacy, colleague, delegation, delegate, lex, collegiate, legate, collegium, 9 more

through Latin lēgālis ‘legal’

legal, leal, 5 more

Today it means

noun The state of being loyal; fidelity.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “loyalty”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin lex, Latin legalis, Old French loial. 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- / loyalty

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