leal

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

Inherited from Middle English leel, lel, borrowed from Anglo-Norman leal and Old French leial, from Latin lēgālis. Doublet of loyal and legal.

November 14.--We breakfasted at honest Allan Cunningham's--honest Allan--a leal and true Scotsman of the old cast. — The Journal of Sir Walter Scott: From the Original Manuscript at Abbotsford, Walter Scott
The lealest lover time can show, Doomed for a lady-love to languish, Among these solitudes doth go, A prey to every kind of anguish. — Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
How pretty is the following verse in an address by an aged father to his children:— “The auld will speak, the young maun hear, Be cantie, but be gude and leal; Your ain ills aye hae heart to bear, Anither’s aye hae heart to feel. — Footsteps of Dr. Johnson (Scotland), George Birkbeck Norman Hill

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