pledge

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pledʒ/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French plege (“hostage, security, bail”),^[2][3][4] probably from Frankish *plegan (“to guarantee”),^[2][3] from a West Germanic root meaning to have responsibility for, seen in Old Saxon plegan, to vouch for (see play and plight).^[3][2] Hoad and Merriam-Webster derive the French word instead from Late Latin plebium, security, from plebīre, to assure, of unknown origin.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A surety or bail, a person who stands as guarantee for another: 1348,^[2] the mid-14th century in Etymonline; the surname Plegg is from 1284.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Property given as security for a debt is from the late 15th century, in Caxton,^[3] and a token of favour or agreement from the 1520s.^[3][4] A vow sealed by drinking with someone is from the 1630s,^[3] and the verb, to drink a toast, from the 1590s.^[3] The sense of a solemn promise is first recorded only in 1814.^[2][3][4] The verb, to give as security, to promise, is from about 1400.^[2][3] In American colleges, a pledge is a student who has promised to join a fraternity or sorority.^[6]

Timeline

• 1348 – a surety, guarantor.^[2]
• c. 1400 – to pledge (verb).^[2][3]
• late 15th century – property given as security.^[3]
• 1520s – a token.^[3]
• 1590s – to drink a toast.^[3]
• 1814 – a solemn promise.^[2][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A solemn binding promise to do or not do something.
2. Something given as security for a debt or obligation.
3. A sign or token: a pledge of their sincerity.
4. A person who has promised to join a fraternity or sorority.

Verb

1. To promise solemnly.
2. To give as security; to pawn.
3. To drink a toast to.

Word family

• pledgeable
• pledger
• pledgeless
• repledge
• unpledged
• interpledge
• pledgee
• pledgor

Related words

• plight
• play
• replevin

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin