Synonyms Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for loyal on Thesaurus.com faithful to one's sovereign, government, or state: a loyal subject. faithful to one's oath, commitments, or obligations: to be loyal to a vow. faithful to any leader, party, or cause, or to any person or thing conceived as deserving fidelity: a loyal friend. characterized by or showing faithfulness to commitments, vows, allegiance, obligations, etc.: loyal conduct. Show More
Origin of loyal 1525–35; <
Middle French, Old French loial, le(i)al <
Latin lēgālis legal Related forms loy·al·ly , adverb loy·al·ness , noun non·loy·al , adjective non·loy·al·ly , adverb o·ver·loy·al , adjective o·ver·loy·al·ly , adverb qua·si-loy·al , adjective qua·si-loy·al·ly , adverb su·per·loy·al , adjective su·per·loy·al·ly , adverb un·loy·al , adjective un·loy·al·ly , adverb Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for unloyal tricky ,
unreliable ,
slippery ,
incorrect ,
erroneous ,
inaccurate ,
unsound ,
spurious ,
apocryphal ,
distorted ,
mistaken ,
fictitious ,
specious ,
wrong ,
misleading ,
untruthful ,
deceptive ,
unfaithful ,
false ,
disaffected Examples from the Web for unloyal Historical Examples of unloyal British Dictionary definitions for unloyal having or showing continuing allegiance faithful to one's country, government, etc of or expressing loyalty Show More
Derived Forms loyally , adverb loyalness , noun Word Origin for loyal C16: from Old French loial, leial, from Latin lēgālis legal
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for unloyal adj. 1530s, in reference to subjects of sovereigns or governments, from Middle French loyal , from Old French loial , leal "of good quality; faithful; honorable; law-abiding; legitimate, born in wedlock," from Latin legalem , from lex "law." In most cases it has displaced Middle English leal , which is from the same French source. Sense development in English is feudal, via notion of "faithful in carrying out legal obligations." In a general sense (of dogs, lovers, etc.), from c.1600. As a noun meaning "those who are loyal" from 1530s (originally often in plural).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
