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Added 9 October 2026

confederate

/kənˈfɛdəɹət/ noun

Latin root: cōnfoederātus First recorded: 1387 Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about confederate at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A supporter of the Confederate States of America.
Someone who assists in a plot.
A person who joins with another in carrying out some plan (especially an unethical or illegal plan).

verb

Form a group or unite.
The groups banded together
Form a confederation with; of nations.

adjective

Of or having to do with the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War.
Confederate soldiers
United in a confederacy or league.

Origin

First attested in 1387, in Middle english; inherited from Middle English confederat(e) (“confederated, allied, associated in a plot; united or bound, as in friendship or troth”), borrowed from Late Latin cōnfoederātus perfect passive participle of cōnfoederō, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix). Regular participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English. By surface analysis, con- + federate.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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