Other forms: alleged, alleging, alleges
To allege is to claim that something happened without yet offering proof. It is alleged that, the alleged offence, the allegations are denied.
The word exists almost entirely for legal safety. A newspaper writes alleged so that it is reporting a claim rather than asserting a fact, which protects it from libel and protects the accused's presumption of innocence. That is why alleged and allegedly appear in nearly every crime report. Note that alleged goes before the noun — the alleged attacker — and that it does not imply doubt about the writer's belief, only that the matter is unproven.
1verballegeTo claim something without proving it.
“It is alleged that the money never reached the account.”
allege is a way of claiming.
Old French alleguer came from Latin allegare, to send or cite — the same root as delegate and legate. To allege was originally to cite something in support of your case, which is a good deal more confident than the modern hedged use.
Anglo-Norman
aleger
Old French
alleguer
Middle English
aleggen
English, today
allege
Built from
From Middle English aleggen, perhaps from Old French alleguer, or from Anglo-Norman aleger, the form perhaps from Old French esligier (“to acquit”), from Medieval Latin exlītigāre (“to clear at law”), from Latin ex (“out”) + lītigō (“sue at law”), but the meaning from Old French alleguer, from Latin allēgō (“send on a mission, depute; relate, mention, adduce”), from ad (“to”) + lēgō (“send”). See also al-.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA