Definition of "allege"

allege¹

/əˈlɛd͡ʒ/

verb
third-person singular simple present alleges, present participle alleging, simple past and past participle alleged
1. (obsolete, transitive) To state under oath, to plead.
2. (archaic) To cite or quote an author or his work for or against.
3. (transitive) To adduce (something) as a reason, excuse, support etc.
  Quotations
  I will further alleage a storie […] to make us palpably feele his naturall condition.
  1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 39, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […]
4. (transitive) To make a claim as justification or proof; to make an assertion without proof.

allege²

/əˈlɛd͡ʒ/

verb
third-person singular simple present alleges, present participle alleging, simple past and past participle alleged
1. (obsolete) To lighten, diminish.
  Quotations
  and suffir never your soveraynté to be alledged with your subjects,and suffer not your sovereignty to be diminished with your subjects,
  1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book V, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889,
  Hart that is inly hurt, is greatly eased / With hope of thing, that may allegge his smart […].
  1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie