FEALTY Fe"al*ty, n. Etym: [OE. faute, OF. fauté, fealté, feelé, feelteit, fr. L. fidelitas, fr. fidelis faithful. See Feal, and cf. Fidelity.]
1. Fidelity to one's lord; the feudal obligation by which the tenant or vassal was bound to be faithful to his lord; the special oath by which this obligation was assumed; fidelity to a superior power, or to a government; loyality. It is no longer the practice to exact the performance of fealty, as a feudal obligation. Wharton (Law Dict. ). Tomlins.
2. Fidelity; constancy; faithfulness, as of a friend to a friend, or of a wife to her husband. He should maintain fealty to God. I. Taylor. Makes wicked lightnings of her eyes, and saps The fealty of our friends. tennyson. Swore fealty to the new government. Macaulay.
Note: Fealty is distinguished from homage, which is an acknowledgment of tenure, while fealty implies an oath. See Homage. Wharton.
Syn.
— Homage; loyality; fidelity; constancy.
FEAR
Fear, n.
Defn: A variant of Fere, a mate, a companion. [Obs.] Spenser.
FEAR Fear, n. Etym: [OE. fer, feer, fere, AS. f a coming suddenly upon, fear, danger; akin to D. vaar, OHG. fara danger, G. gefahr, Icel. far harm, mischief, plague, and to E. fare, peril. See Fare.]
1. A painful emotion or passion excited by the expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger; apprehension; anxiety; solicitude; alarm; dread.
Note: The degrees of this passion, beginning with the most moderate,
may be thus expressed, — apprehension, fear, dread, fright, terror.
Fear is an uneasiness of the mind, upon the thought of future evil
likely to befall us. Locke.
Where no hope is left, is left no fear. Milton.