The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.
ALLEGIANCE
commitment, allegiance, loyalty, dedication
(noun) the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action; “his long commitment to public service”; “they felt no loyalty to a losing team”
allegiance, fealty
(noun) the loyalty that citizens owe to their country (or subjects to their sovereign)
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
allegiance (countable and uncountable, plural allegiances)
Loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler.
Synonyms
• fidelity, loyalty, adherence
Source: Wiktionary
Al*le"giance, n. Etym: [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.]
1. 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.
2. 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
7 January 2025
UNINFORMATIVELY
(adverb) in an uninformative manner; “‘I can’t tell you when the manager will arrive,’ he said rather uninformatively”
Coffee Trivia
