English
fealty
Fealty comes from Anglo-Norman fëauté, from Latin fidēlitās ‘faithfulness, fidelity’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ- ‘to command, to persuade, to trust’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeydʰ-‘to command, to persuade, to trust’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfidēs‘faith, trust’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfidēlis‘faithful’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfidēlitās‘faithfulness, fidelity’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400fëauté
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500feaute
- Englishearliest quotation 1831fealty
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeydʰ-‘to command, to persuade, to trust’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfidēs‘faith, trust’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfidēlis‘faithful’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfidēlitās‘faithfulness, fidelity’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400fëauté
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500feaute
- Englishearliest quotation 1831fealty
Earliest quotation: 1831, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley: “I doubt whether the most devoted fidelity would bear…”
Formed from feal + -ty
Proto-Indo-European *pey- ‘to adore’
Proto-Germanic *failijaz ‘true, friendly, familiar, good’
Proto-West Germanic *failī ‘true, friendly, familiar, good’
Old English fǣle ‘faithful, trusty, good’
Middle English fele ‘good, excellent’
English feal
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ- ‘to command, to persuade, to trust’
federal, confidence, confident, federation, abide, confederate, defiance, defy, affidavit, fiduciary, bode, confidant, confide, foi, bide, diffident, 25 more
through Latin fidēs ‘faith, trust’
through Latin fidēlis ‘faithful’
through Latin fidēlitās ‘faithfulness, fidelity’
Today it means
noun Fidelity to one's lord or master; the feudal obligation by which the tenant or vassal was bound to be faithful to his lord.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ- / fealty