Strong feelings of support and allegiance toward a person, group, country, or cause.
From Old French 'loiauté', from 'loial' meaning loyal. Traces to Latin 'legalis' (legal, lawful), suggesting loyalty originally meant 'legal obligation' before becoming about emotional devotion.
Loyalty started as a legal concept—what you were obligated to do—but transformed into an emotional concept about what you choose to support! That evolution shows how law and feeling merged in our values.
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