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Origin and history of fidelity

fidelity(n.)

early 15c., "faithfulness, devotion," from Old French fidélité (15c.), from Latin fidelitatem (nominative fidelitas) "faithfulness, adherence, trustiness," from fidelis "faithful, true, trusty, sincere," from fides "faith" (from PIE root *bheidh- "to trust, confide, persuade"). From 1530s as "faithful adherence to truth or reality;" specifically of sound reproduction from 1878.

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to fidelity

feal(adj.)

"faithful," 1560s, not found in Middle English but apparently from Old French feal "faithful, loyal, true, sincere," collateral form of feeil, from Latin fidelis "loyal" (see fidelity).

hi-fi(adj.)

1947, abbreviation of high-fidelity (1934), a descriptive term of radio receivers in reference to their quality of sound reproduction. Hi as an advertiser's phonological shortening of high (adj.) is attested by 1914. Fidelity in the sense "faithful reproduction of sound" is from 1878.

*bheidh-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to trust, confide, persuade."

It might form all or part of: abide; abode; affiance; affidavit; auto-da-fe; bide; bona fide; confederate; confidant; confide; confidence; confident; defiance; defy; diffidence; diffident; faith; fealty; federal; federate; federation; fiancee; fideism; fidelity; fiducial; fiduciary; infidel; infidelity; nullifidian; perfidy; solifidian.

It might also be the source of: Greek pistis "faith, confidence, honesty;" Latin fides "trust, faith, confidence, reliance, credence, belief;" Albanian be "oath," bindem "to be convinced, believe;" Old Church Slavonic beda "distress, necessity," bediti "to force, persuade;" Old English biddan "to ask, beg, pray," German bitten "to ask."

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    infidelity
    c. 1400, "want of faith, unbelief in religion; false belief, paganism;" also (early 15c.) "unfaithfulness or disloyalty to a person" (originally to a sovereign, by 16c. to a lover or spouse), from French infidélité (12c.) or directly from Latin infidelitatem (nominative infidelit
    trust
    abstract noun *traustam (source also of Old Frisian trast, Dutch troost "comfort, consolation," Old High German trost "trust, fidelity..., trusty," from PIE root *deru- "be firm, solid, steadfast." from c. 1300 as "reliability, trustworthiness; trustiness, fidelity...
    integrity
    .; that of "soundness of moral principle and character; entire uprightness or fidelity, especially in regard to truth and...
    faithless
    Unfaithful ... especially means a lack of fidelity to trust or duty, a failure to perform what is due, however much may be...
    seven-year itch
    Jocular use for "urge to stray from marital fidelity" is attested from 1952, as the title of the Broadway play (made into...
    loyalty
    c. 1400, from Old French loialte, leaute "loyalty, fidelity; legitimacy; honesty; good quality" (Modern French loyauté),...
    truce
    trewes, originally plural of trewe "faith, assurance of faith, covenant, treaty," from Old English treow "faith, truth, fidelity...
    truth
    Middle English truþ, from Old English triewð (West Saxon), treowð (Mercian) "faith, faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty; veracity, quality of being true; pledge, covenant," from Germanic abstract noun *treuwitho, from Proto-Germanic treuwaz "having or characterized by good faith." Th
    quality
    c. 1300, qualite, "temperament, character, disposition," from Old French calite, qualite "quality, nature, characteristic" (12c., Modern French qualité), from Latin qualitatem (nominative qualitas) "a quality, property; nature, state, condition" (said [Tucker, etc.] to have been
    dedication
    late 14c., dedicacioun, "action of consecrating to a deity or sacred use," from Old French dedicacion "consecration of a church or chapel" (14c., Modern French dédication) and directly from Latin dedicationem, noun of action from dedicare "consecrate, proclaim, affirm, set apart,

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