fealty

Etymology

From Middle English feaute, feute, from Anglo-Norman fëauté, fëuté, from Latin fidēlitās (“faithfulness”; “homage, fealty” in Medieval Latin), from fidēlis (“faithful”) + -tās (noun suffix); the modern form (for expected *feauty /ˈfjuːti/) is due to learned influence. Equivalent to obsolete feal + -ty. Doublet of fidelity.

noun

1. Fidelity to one's lord or master; the feudal obligation by which the tenant or vassal was bound to be faithful to his lord.
   And yet the war has come, full of double-crossing, internecine accusations of lying and incompetence, and a bitter cleavage into factions over the question of how much fealty should be shown to President Trump — and the extent to which Republicans should amplify his false argument that the election in this fast-changing Southern state was stolen from him. 2020-11-18, Richard Fausset, Jonathan Martin, “In Georgia, a Republican Feud With Trump at the Center”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
   In one recent video, he said the problem posed by a Russian military led by people who demand nothing but blind fealty would need to be dealt with — “or one day the Russian people will solve it themselves.” 2023-05-16, Paul Sonne, Anton Troianovski, “As Ukrainian Attack Looms, Putin Faces Setbacks and Disunity in Russian Forces”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
2. The oath by which this obligation was assumed.