allege

English

Alternative forms

• alleadge, alledg, alledge, allegge (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈlɛd͡ʒ/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛdʒ

Etymology 1

From Middle English aleggen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman aleger, the form from Old French esligier (“to acquit”), 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.
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 39, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes , book I, London: Val Simmes for Edward Blount , →OCLC:

     I will further alleage a storie […] to make us palpably feele his naturall condition.

4. (transitive) To make a claim as justification or proof; to make an assertion without proof.

   The agency alleged that my credit history had problems.

Derived terms

Related terms

• allegation
• privilege

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English alleggen, 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. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (obsolete) To lighten, diminish.
   • 1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book V, by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur , London: David Nutt, , 1889, →OCLC:

     and suffir never your soveraynté to be alledged with your subjects,

     and suffer not your sovereignty to be diminished with your subjects,

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. , London: [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     Hart that is inly hurt, is greatly eased / With hope of thing, that may allegge his smart […].

See also

• Wikipedia article on "oath"

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “allege”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Further reading

• “allege”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “allege”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Latin

Verb

allege

1. second-person singular present active imperative of allegō