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Glite Dictionary
ligeance

ligeance

9.9
Loyalty to a ruler, government, or cause
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : lealtad
  • He pledged his ligeance to the king.

Examples

  • Natural-born subjects owe their ligeance to the king as part of their citizenship.

  • The knight swore ligeance to his king before the assembled court.

  • During the ceremony, all nobles pledged their ligeance to the new ruler.

  • Breaking one's ligeance was considered a grave offense in medieval society.

  • The knight swore an oath of ligeance.

  • Historically, many knights pledged ligeance to their lords for protection and support.

  • The oath required every soldier to affirm their ligeance to the nation and its government.

Synonyms

allegiance
vsligeance
155 5.6

Strong support for a group, person, or country

is specifically formal or historical loyalty to rulers, governments, or causes
fealty
vsligeance
  • Archaic
8 9.9

Loyalty and duty given to a ruler or country in a formal ceremony

is broader formal or historical loyalty especially to rulers, governments, or causes

Antonyms

disloyalty
13 4.1

Not supporting a person, group, or cause who trusts you

How Loyal

devotion
62 3.2
fealty
  • Archaic
8 9.9
ligeance
  • Archaic
9.9
allegiance
155 5.6

Surface Forms

ligeance singular
ligeances plural

Morphology

ligeance = liege (opaque) = liege + ance

The word is historically related to 'liege' + '-ance', but the connection is archaic and not likely recoverable by an average learner from modern English meaning.

Etymology

Ligeance comes from an old French idea of being 'bound' to a lord, the same idea behind the English words liege and allegiance. So, ligeance means a formal loyalty or promise to serve a ruler or cause.