allegiance Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action
dedication; loyalty; commitment.
- his long commitment to public service
- they felt no loyalty to a losing team
noun the loyalty that citizens owe to their country (or subjects to their sovereign)
fealty.

OE. alegeaunce; pref. a- + OF. lige, liege. The meaning was influenced by L. ligare to bind, and even by lex, legis, law. See Liege, Ligeance.

The tie or obligation, implied or expressed, which a subject owes to his sovereign or government; the duty of fidelity to one's king, government, or state.
Devotion; loyalty; as, allegiance to science. Syn. -- Loyalty; fealty. -- Allegiance, Loyalty. These words agree in expressing the general idea of fidelity and attachment to the "powers that be." Allegiance is an obligation to a ruling power. Loyalty is a feeling or sentiment towards such power. Allegiance may exist under any form of government, and, in a republic, we generally speak of allegiance to the government, to the state, etc. In well conducted monarchies, loyalty is a warm-hearted feeling of fidelity and obedience to the sovereign. It is personal in its nature; and hence we speak of the loyalty of a wife to her husband, not of her allegiance. In cases where we personify, loyalty is more commonly the word used; as, loyalty to the constitution; loyalty to the cause of virtue; loyalty to truth and religion, etc.
Hear me, recreant, on thine allegiance hear me! Shak.

So spake the Seraph Abdiel, faithful found, . . . Unshaken, unseduced, unterrified, His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal. Milton.