fealty

American  

[fee-uhl-tee] / ˈfi əl ti /

noun

fealties plural

1. History/Historical.

   1. fidelity to a lord.

   2. the obligation or the engagement to be faithful to a lord, usually sworn to by a vassal.

2. fidelity; faithfulness.

   Synonyms:

   devotion, loyalty

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fealty British  

/ ˈfiːəltɪ /

noun

1. (in feudal society) the loyalty sworn to one's lord on becoming his vassal See homage

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonfealty
  noun
• unfealty
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fealties
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fealty

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English feute, feaute, fealtye, from Anglo-French, Old French feauté, fealté, from Latin fidēlitāt- (stem of fidēlitās ) fidelity; internal -au-, -al- from feal, reshaping (by substitution of -al- -al ¹ ) of fe(d)eil, from Latin fidēlis

Explanation

The noun fealty is another way of saying "loyalty" or "faithfulness." Your sister will allow you to join the secret club meetings in her treehouse only if you first promise fealty to the other members. Some school kids pledge their fealty, or allegiance, to the United States of America every morning in homeroom. But if you think fealty sounds like a word King Arthur would use, you're right: It's really an outdated term that primarily describes a vassal's sworn allegiance to a feudal lord. Fealty, like the word fidelity derives from the Latin root "fidelitas."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fealty fealties

But a strict fealty to mimicking that relationship interrupts the conversation between modern and ancient sculpture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

On Monday, Iranian state-affiliated TV channels broadcast rallies from all across the country depicting masses of people gathering in main squares to express their fealty.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2026

All of them were there to demonstrate their fealty to the man who would be king.

From Salon ● Nov. 23, 2025

For decades these animals – lions, tigers, pumas, cheetahs and jaguars – have been a sign of power, status and even political fealty in the country.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2025

No one notices, but for a brief moment, as Aquilla swears her fealty, I catch a glimpse of Elias’s face.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

A Scorpio’s deepest fealties can only lie with beings they perceive as powerful as they are — or more so, complementing that inescapable desire to subjugate that which makes them feel powerless.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2024

The doors were shut, with the infant inside; the lights flew up; glasses clinked, merry healths were pledged, new fealties sworn by look alone.

From V. V.'s Eyes by Harrison, Henry Sydnor

Feudalism itself, with its curious net-work of fealties and obligations running through the fabric of society in every direction, was by no means purely disintegrative in its tendencies.

From American Political Ideas Viewed from the Standpoint of Universal History by Fiske, John

If Lydia was to be his—though already she seemed supremely his in all the shy fealties of the moment—not a petal of the flower of love should be lost to her.

From The Prisoner by Brown, Alice

My passions are many, my loves more, my thoughts loyalty, and my fancy faith: all devoted in humble devoir to the service of Phœbe; and shall I reap no reward for such fealties?

From A History of Elizabethan Literature by Saintsbury, George

Related Words

• faithfulness
• loyalty