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loy·al

(loiəl)

adj.

1. Steadfast in allegiance to one's homeland, government, or sovereign.

2. Faithful to a person, ideal, custom, cause, or duty. See Synonyms at faithful.

3. Of, relating to, or marked by loyalty: thanked the voters for their loyal support.

[French, from Old French leial, loial, from Latin lēgālis, legal, from lēx, lēg-, law; see leg- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

loyal·ly adv.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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