federal

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfed.ər.əl/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin foedus (“covenant, league, treaty”), genitive foederis, and -al,^[2][3][4] perhaps through French fédéral.^[5][6] Latin foedus is related to fīdere (“to trust”) and fidēs (“faith”),^[2][7][8] from Proto-Indo-European *bheidh- (“to trust, confide”).^[5][9] Barnhart notes that the English spelling federal is recorded in 1737, earlier than the French.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In theology, relating to the covenants between God and man: 1645, as foederal,^[2][10] or the 1640s.^[5]

Semantic evolution

“Pertaining to a covenant or treaty” in general is from 1660,^[10][7] and the political sense, “formed by agreement among independent states”, from 1707,^[5][10] from phrases such as federal union, popularized in the formation of the United States in 1776–87.^[5] Word Origins notes that it was first used of the United States government at the Continental Congress in 1783.^[8] “Favouring a strong central government” is from 1788,^[5][10] and federal as opposed to confederate came to mean a state whose central authority is independent within its sphere.^[5] The Northern side in the American Civil War is Federal from 1861.^[5][10]

Timeline

• 1645 – theological, of covenants.^[2][10]
• 1707 – of a union of states.^[10][5]
• 1783 – of the United States government.^[8]
• 1788 – favouring central government.^[5][10]
• 1861 – the Union side in the Civil War.^[5][10]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Of a form of government in which states unite under a central authority while keeping some powers of their own.
2. Of the central government of such a union, as distinct from its states.
3. (often Federal) Supporting the Union in the American Civil War.
4. (theology) Relating to God's covenants with humankind.

Noun

1. A supporter of the Union, especially a Union soldier, in the American Civil War.
2. (US) A federal agent or official.

Word family

• federally
• federalness
• confederal
• federalese
• federalism
• Federalist
• federalization
• federalize

Related words

• federation
• confederate
• faith
• fidelity
• fiancé

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press