Thursday, May 26, 2011

Allege

Allege \uh-LEJ\ , verb;
1. To assert without proof
2. To declare with positiveness; affirm; assert
3. To declare before a court or elsewhere, as if under oath

This word dates to the 1300's and is taken from two French words. Anglo-French aleger provided the form, but Old French eslegier provided the definition: "aquit, clear of charges in a lawsuit." Eslegier derives from Latin ex- + litigare ("out of" + "bring suit"). Somewhere along the way it acquired the meaning of French alléguire, which comes from Latin allegare ("send for, the bring forth, name, produce in evidence") from ad- + legare ("to" + "to depute, send").

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