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lealtà

loyalty; faithfulness

noun leh-al-TAH Rare

Origin: French loyauté, ultimately from Latin legalis (legal, lawful).

Usage Note

Lealtà entered Italian via French loyauté and denotes steadfast fidelity to a person, group, or principle. It is closely related to fedeltà (fidelity), but lealtà emphasises honest, fair behaviour (playing fair) as much as loyalty. Like all nouns ending in an accented vowel, it is invariable: le lealtà in the plural (though rare). The adjective is leale (loyal, fair).

Examples

"La sua lealtà verso gli amici è ammirevole."

Natural Translation

His loyalty towards his friends is admirable.

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