allege

See also: allégé and allège

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /əˈlɛdʒ/
  • Rhymes: -ɛdʒ

Etymology 1

From Middle English aleggen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman aleger, the form from Old French esligier, from Medieval Latin *exlītigāre (“to clear at law”), from Latin ex (“out”) + lītigō (“sue at law”), the meaning from Old French alleguer, from Latin allēgāre, present active infinitive of allēgō (“send, depute; relate, mention, adduce”), from ad (“to”) + lēgō (“send”).

Verb

allege (third-person singular simple present alleges, present participle alleging, simple past and past participle alleged)

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To state under oath, to plead.
  2. (archaic) To cite or quote an author or his work for or against.
  3. (transitive) To adduce (something) as a reason, excuse, support etc.
  4. (transitive) To make a claim as justification or proof; to make an assertion without proof.
    The agency alleged my credit history had problems.
Translations

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Old French alegier, from Latin alleviāre, present active infinitive of alleviō (“lighten”), from ad + levis (“light”). Doublet of alleviate.

Verb

allege (third-person singular simple present alleges, present participle alleging, simple past and past participle alleged)

  1. (obsolete) To lighten, diminish.
    • 1485 July 31, Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], (please specify the book number), [London]: […] [by William Caxton], OCLC 71490786; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: Published by David Nutt, […], 1889, OCLC 890162034:
      , Bk.V:
      and suffir never your soveraynté to be alledged with your subjects, nother the soveraygne of your persone and londys.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.ii:
      Hart that is inly hurt, is greatly eased / With hope of thing, that may allegge his smart […].

See also

References

Further reading
  • allege in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
  • allege in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Latin

Verb

allege

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of allegō
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