fealty
noun
Nicholas Dawidoff
Did you know?
In The Use of Law, published posthumously in 1629, Francis Bacon wrote, "Fealty is to take an oath upon a book, that he will be a faithful Tenant to the King." That's a pretty accurate summary of the early meaning of fealty. Early forms of the term were used in Middle English around 1300, when they specifically designated the loyalty of a vassal to a lord. Eventually, the meaning of the word broadened. Fealty can be paid to a country, a principle, or a leader of any kind—though the synonyms fidelity and loyalty are more commonly used. Fealty comes from the Anglo-French word feelté, or fealté, which comes from the Latin fidelitas, meaning "fidelity." These words are ultimately derived from fides, the Latin word for "faith."
Synonyms
Examples of fealty in a Sentence
Michael C. Bender, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
But the – the issue of fealty to the Constitution is not a small matter.
—CBS News, 17 Mar. 2024
Over the last decade, the majority of America’s conservative institutions have realized that there’s a great deal of money to be made in demanding fealty to Trump, and the majority of non-conservative outlets have seen the potential inherent in taking exactly the opposite course.
—Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 22 Jan. 2024
The GOP controls the House of Representatives by a six-seat majority, 55% of Republicans say Washington is spending too much on Ukraine, and opposition to aid has become a mark of fealty to former President Donald Trump, who’s holding even with President Joe Biden at 44% in a new YouGov poll.
—Dan Morrison, USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2024
Adaptations can be especially deadly when moviemakers are too precious with the source material; they’re torpedoed by fealty.
—Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
Our task ahead is to envision an inspiring future, not stall progress in fealty to the status quo.
—Elijah Clark, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
Elections that demand public declarations of fealty at specific dates and times—without options for mail-in or early voting—undercut democratic norms and, especially in Nevada, penalize hourly-wage workers who tend to be less affluent or white.
—TIME, 6 Feb. 2024
His new wife, who demonstrates an unshakeable fealty to her man, like castrated Republicans to Donald Trump, is Bianca Censori, an Australian.
—Joe Soucheray, Twin Cities, 3 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fealty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fealty
Cite this Entry
“Fealty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fealty. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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