Etymologically
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allegation

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Pronunciation

  • /ˌæl.ɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/, /ˌæl.əˈɡeɪ.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English allegacioun,[2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman allegacioun, also allegacion and aligacione,[3][4] and partly borrowed from Latin allēgātiō,[3][5][6][7] a noun of action from allēgō (“to send on an errand, cite, adduce”).[3][5][2][8] The Latin verb is formed from ad- (“to”) and lēgō (“to depute, send with a commission”), the source of legate.[8][2][9][6] In Old French the noun is recorded from 1235 for a declaration made to justify oneself;[3] in Anglo-Norman it is recorded from 1334 for an assertion or declaration.[4] In Latin it meant a representation made on behalf of another, or a charge, and in post-classical Latin also a document produced as proof.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In law, a declaration or plea made before a court: 1402, in a Dundee record printed in W. Hay's Charters, Writs & Public Documents.[3][7][5]

Semantic evolution

The legal sense, a party's formal statement of what it means to prove, widened about 1425 to any act of alleging.[3][5] Etymonline notes that in general use, from the 17th century, it often suggested an assertion made without proof,[5] and the OED that in later use it has mostly meant a claim of wrongdoing or illegal behaviour.[3] Two other senses died out in the 17th century: a reason or excuse given for something,[3][7] and the citing of an authority, especially Scripture, first recorded in the 1535 Coverdale Bible.[3][7] Johnson (1755) gave "affirmation", "the thing alleged" and "an excuse".[10] In Londonderry dialect allegations were quarrels or disputes.[11]

Timeline

  • 1402 – a declaration or plea before a court.[3]
  • c. 1425 – the act of alleging; an unproved assertion.[3]
  • ?1510 – an excuse or reason given (obsolete by 1622).[3][7]
  • 1535 – the citing of an authority or text (obsolete by 1673).[3][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A claim or assertion that has not been proved, especially one accusing someone of wrongdoing: The minister denied the allegations of bribery.[12][2][3]
  2. The act of alleging.[12][2][3]
  3. (law) A statement by a party to a legal action of what it undertakes to prove.[2][3][7]
  4. (obsolete, ?1510–1622) An excuse or reason given for something.[3][7][10]
  5. (obsolete, 1535–1673) The citing of an authority or text; a quotation.[3][7]

Word family

  • misallegation
  • reallegation

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  9. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  10. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  12. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins