Federal: During the American Civil War,… | etymologist.ai
federal
/ˈfɛd.ər.əl/·adjective·1640s (covenant sense); 1707 (political union sense)·Established
Origin
Federal descends from Latin foedus (treaty, compact), rooted in fidēs (faith) and PIE *bʰeydʰ- (to trust). A federation is, etymologically, a pact sealed by mutual trust. Theword entered English via French in the 1640s and became indelibly American through the Federalist Papers (1787-88).
Definition
Relating to or denoting a system of government in which several states unite under a central authority while retaining limited self-governance; pertaining to the central government of a federation as distinguished from its constituent units.
The Full Story
Latin17th centurywell-attested
From French 'fédéral' (1735) anddirectly from Latin 'foederālis' (of a treaty, of a league), from 'foedus' (genitive 'foederis' — treaty, league, compact, covenant), related to 'fidēs' (faith, trust, reliance) and 'fīdere' (to trust). ThePIE root is *bʰeydʰ- (to trust, to urge, to persuade) — the same root that producedEnglish 'bide' (to await, trust) and 'abide.' A treaty (foedus) is a bondsealed by mutual faith: the semantic link between
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During the American Civil War, both sides drew their names from the same Latin root: 'Federal' (Union) and 'Confederate' (secessionist) both descend from foedus, meaning 'treaty.' The Union claimed to defend the federation; the Confederacy claimed the right to form their own league. The sameword for 'bond
fidēs(Latin (faith, trust — related root))fidelity(English (from Latin fidēlis — faithful))confide(English (from Latin confidere — to trust fully))affidavit(English (from Medieval Latin — he has pledged faith))fédération(French (federation — direct cognate))Bund(German (federation, league — related concept from PIE *bʰendʰ-))