# loyalty

Pronunciation: say "LOY-uhl-tee" /ˈlɔɪəlti/

## Noun

1. Faithfulness or devotion to a particular person, cause, or nation.
   - Simple: Being true and faithful to a person, group, or country.
   - _His loyalty to the company kept him there for thirty years despite better offers._
   - _The clan prized loyalty to its chief above wealth or personal ambition._
2. The state or quality of being loyal; steadfast faithfulness.
   - Simple: The quality of being faithful and true to someone or something.
   - _Loyalty is the foundation of any lasting friendship._
   - _The king rewarded the knight's loyalty with land and a title._

## Origin

This word came through Middle English "loialte" from Old French "loialte" (modern "loyauté"), formed from "loial" (loyal) plus the ending "-té".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/loyalty (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).