Dictionary Definition
fealty n : the loyalty that citizens owe to their
country (or subjects to their sovereign) [syn: allegiance]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
\FEE-uhl-tee\Noun
- Fidelity to one's lord; the feudal obligation by which the tenant or vassal was bound to be faithful to his lord; fidelity; allegiance; faithfulness.
- The oath by which this obligation was assumed.
Translations
the oath by which this obligation was assumed
- Danish: lensed
Extensive Definition
An oath
of fealty, from the Latin fidelitas
(faithfulness), is
a pledge of allegiance of one person to
another. Typically the oath is made upon a religious object such as
a Bible or
saint's relic, thus binding the oath-taker
before God.
In medieval
Europe, fealty was sworn between two people, the obliged person
(vassal) and a person of
rank (lord). This was done
as part of a formal commendation
ceremony to create a feudal relationship.
Fealty and homage are a key element of feudalism. Under the feudal
system, the smallest unit of land a fief could own was called a
fea or fee, giving rise to the term
freehold.
The term is also used by English-speakers to
refer to similar oaths of allegiance in other feudal cultures, as
with
medieval Japan.
Related links
fealty in Hebrew: פידליטס
fealty in French: Serment général de fidélité au
roi
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
acquiescence, adherence, adhesion, allegiance, ardor, assigned task, attachment, bona fides,
bond, bonne foi, bounden
duty, burden, business, call of duty,
charge, commitment, compliance, conformity, constancy, dedication, deference, dependability, devoir, devotedness, devotion, duteousness, duties and
responsibilities, dutifulness, duty, ethics, faith, faithfulness, fidelity, firmness, good faith, homage, imperative, line of duty,
loyalty, mission, must, obedience, obediency, obligation, observance, onus, ought, piety, place, reliability, respect, self-imposed duty,
service, servility, servitium, staunchness, steadfastness, submission, submissiveness, suit and
service, suit service, support, tie, troth, true blue, trueness, trustworthiness,
truth, willingness