I. ˈplej noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English plegge, from Middle French plege, from Old French, from Late Latin plebium security, from (assumed) Late Latin plebere to pledge, probably modification (influenced by Latin praebēre to offer) of (assumed) Old Frankish plegan to be responsible for, guarantee; akin to Old High German pflegan to take care of — more at plight , prebend
1.
a. : a person under early English law whose body is given as security for the performance of an obligation : hostage
b. : a chattel or object of personal property delivered by a debtor or obligor to a creditor or obligee to be kept by the latter until the debt or obligation is satisfied : an object given as security by pledge
c.
(1) : a bailment of a chattel or object of personal property as security for the satisfaction of a debt or other obligation
(2) : the contract, obligation, or form of property incidental to such a bailment
d. : an agreement involving the delivery as security but without transfer of title of objects capable of physical delivery as distinguished from a common-law mortgage which always involves a conditional transfer of title
e. : the transfer of a chose in action by delivery and transfer of title — compare mortgage
2. : the state of being held as a security or guaranty
the camera spent three weeks in pledge at the shop — John Hersey
3.
a. : something given or considered as a security for the performance of an act and usually liable to forfeiture in case of nonperformance
b. : something in pawn
kept the famous painting as a pledge that would be restored eventually to its original owner
4. : something that is a token, sign, evidence, or earnest of something else
the strong beat of his heart was a pledge of a vigorous life
5. : a gage of battle
threw his gauntlet as a sacred pledge — Edmund Spenser
6. : a child that constitutes evidence of a bond between its parents
7.
a. : an assurance of goodwill or favor given by drinking one's health
b. : the toasting of a person
8.
a. : a promise or agreement by which one binds himself to do or forbear something
in the typical Victorian romance a touch of the hand was a pledge of matrimony — M.D.Geismar
b. : a promise usually in writing to refrain from using intoxicants or something considered harmful — usually used with the
takes a lifelong pledge to abstain from drinking whiskey — M.V.Reidy
9.
a. : a promise to join a fraternity or secret society
b. : a person who has promised to join such a group but has not been initiated
inculcating the doctrine of hospitality in all actives and pledges — J.E.Ivins
Synonyms:
earnest , token , pawn , hostage : pledge may apply to anything handed over as a security for fulfillment of a debt or promise or satisfaction of an obligation
the pawnshop, where one waits nervously while the swarthy, shrewd-eyed attendant squints contemptuously at the pledges one offers — Donn Byrne
property of the debtor in the creditor's possession was held as a valid pledge — Harvard Law Review
earnest may designate a payment, usually of money, serving to bind an agreement and indicate either the certainty or the likelihood of additional subsequent payments; in today's English it often indicates a reliable sign indicating a future course
the boy or girl, man or woman, was hired and given the earnest … by the employer — F.D.Smith & Barbara Wilcox
the gold on the surface was only an earnest of the gold veining the rocks beneath it — M.B.Eldershaw
token may apply to any smybol or symbolizing action given as an indication of good faith, obligation, or indebtedness
impossible to employ the Canadian Eskimos in the armed forces … (although a token group of four men from Aklavik has been officially enlisted) — Farley Mowat
has not yet faced up to a service pay raise, though even a token raise could indicate to the regulars that they are held in some esteem — H.W.Baldwin
pawn indicates a person or thing given as a guaranty or security and eventually redeemable
the folly of lending much money on such worthless pawns
hostage usually refers to a person yielded into another's hands as a guaranty of the good intentions of the person or agency performing the yielding
giving over their children as hostages to the invaders
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English pleggen to become surety for, from Middle French plegier, from Old French, from plege, n.
transitive verb
1. : to give as a pledge : deposit (as a chattel) in pledge or pawn : make a pledge of : pawn ; specifically : to assign as security for the repayment of a loan — compare collateral
2. : to give assurance, promise, or evidence especially of goodwill or favor by or in drinking to:
a. obsolete : to drink at the invitation of or in response to a toast proposed by
b. : to drink the health of : toast
lifted his glass and pledged the beautiful girl
3. : to bind by or as if by a pledge : plight
pledged the signatory powers to meet the common danger — Current Biography
we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor — U.S. Declaration of Independence
4.
a. : to assure or promise the performance of (as by a pledge)
to pledge my vow, I give my hand — Shakespeare
b. : to promise seriously : undertake
I have pledged three stories — Malcolm Cowley
5. : to cause (one) to make or sign a pledge
was pledged to join a fraternity
intransitive verb
1. : to give or make a pledge : become surety
2. : to drink a pledge
Synonyms: see promise