federalist

Etymology

It is formed from English federal + -ist,^[2][3][4][5] and was first recorded in the United States in 1787.^[2][3] In the Shorter Oxford it is borrowed from French fédéraliste,^[6] but the revised OED notes that the French word is recorded only from 1789, at first of the members of the American Federalist party, and is itself from English.^[2] Klein credits the coinage to Edmund Burke.^[7] Federal is from French fédéral, formed on Latin foedus (“covenant, league, treaty”) (genitive foederis),^[3][7][2] which Klein relates to fīdō (“to trust”).^[7] The OED notes that anti-federalist is recorded slightly earlier, from 1786.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A supporter of a federal union or of a strong federal government, at first of the constitution drafted in Philadelphia: 1787, in a piece by James Madison in the New York Daily Advertiser of 22 November.^[2][3] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates its first sense, an advocate of federalism, to 1774,^[8] and Dictionary.com dates the word to 1780–90.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline says the word first named the supporters of the Philadelphia constitution and then the members of the Federal party in American politics.^[3] Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms (1848), quoting Webster, gives it as the name of the friends of the Constitution at its formation and adoption and of the party that supported President Washington's administration.^[9] The general sense, anyone who supports federal union, is dated 1792 by Etymonline and the 1989 edition of the OED.^[3][10] The adjective is recorded from 1794, and with a capital for the American Federalist party from 1795;^[2] Etymonline dates adjectival use by 1801.^[3] The party died out about 1824.^[3] Later uses include the world federalist, a supporter of world federation,^[8][11] and in Canada a supporter of Quebec's remaining in the Canadian federation.^[1]

Timeline

• 1787 – a supporter of federal union and of the proposed United States constitution; a member of the Federal party.^[2][3][11]
• 1792 – in general, a supporter of federal union.^[3][10]
• 1794 – adjective, favouring federalism.^[2]
• 1795 – adjective, of the Federalist party in the United States.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A supporter of federalism or of a strong federal government.^[8][2][12]
2. (US history) Usually Federalist: a member or supporter of the Federalist Party, which favoured a strong central government in the early years of the United States.^[12][8][2]
3. (US history) A supporter of a federal union of the former American colonies and of the adoption of the Constitution.^[8][11]
4. A supporter of world federation; a world federalist.^[8][11]

Adjective

1. Of, relating to or favouring federalism or federalists.^[8][2]
2. (US history) Of the Federalist Party or the Federalists.^[12][2]

Word family

• anti-federalist

Related words

• federal
• federalism
• federation
• confederate

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Bartlett, John Russell (1848), Dictionary of Americanisms, New York: Bartlett and Welford
10. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
12. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins