allege

See also: allégé and allège

English

Alternative forms

• alleadge, alledg, alledge, allegge (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈlɛd͡ʒ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛdʒ

Etymology 1

From Middle English aleggen, perhaps from Old French alleguer, or from Anglo-Norman aleger, the form perhaps from Old French esligier (“to acquit”), from Medieval Latin *exlītigāre (“to clear at law”), from Latin ex (“out”) + lītigō (“sue at law”), but the meaning from Old French alleguer, from Latin allēgāre (“send on a mission, 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[entine] 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

• allegeable
• alleger
• misallege
• reallege

 

Related terms

• allegation
• privilege

Translations

to state under oath

• Bulgarian: заявявам под клетва (zajavjavam pod kletva)
• Catalan: afirmar (ca), sostenir (ca), mantenir (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 宣誓 (zh) (xuānshì)

• Finnish: vannoa (fi)
• Italian: dichiarare (it), sostenere (it)
• Japanese: 確言する (ja) (かくげんする, kakugen suru), 言い切る (ja) (iikiru)
• Russian: заявля́ть под присягой impf (zajavljátʹ pod prisjagoj)
• Spanish: afirmar (es)

to adduce as a reason, excuse, support etc.

• Catalan: al·legar (ca), adduir (ca)
• Italian: addurre (it), supportare (it), avvalorare (it)
• Russian: ссыла́ться (ru) impf (ssylátʹsja) (+ на + accusative case),
• Spanish: alegar (es)

to assert without proof

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: твърдя (bg) impf (tvǎrdja)
• Catalan: al·legar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 宣稱 / 宣称 (zh) (xuānchēng)

• Dutch: beweren (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: epäillä (fi)
• French: prétendre (fr), alléguer (fr), prétexter (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: behaupten (de)
• Greek: ισχυρίζομαι (el) (ischyrízomai)
• Italian: sostenere (it), asserire (it)
• Japanese: 主張する (ja) (しゅちょうする, shuchō suru), 喧伝する (ja) (けんでんする, kenden suru), 言い張る (ja) (iiharu)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: praetentō
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: alegar (pt)
• Russian: безоснова́тельно утвержда́ть impf (bezosnovátelʹno utverždátʹ), голосло́вно утвержда́ть impf (goloslóvno utverždátʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: cuir às leth
• Spanish: alegar (es), afirmar (es)
• Swedish: påstå (sv)
• Telugu: ఆరోపించు (te) (ārōpiñcu)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: cáo buộc (vi)

Etymology 2

From Middle English alleggen, from Old French alegier, from Latin alleviāre (“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, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] 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 […].

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