Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “federal” come from?

Federal comes from French fédéral, which derives from Latin foederalis, meaning "of or pertaining to a league or covenant."

federal (English): Pertaining to a league or treaty; derived from an...

Definitions

  1. Pertaining to a league or treaty; derived from an...

Ancestry of “federal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchfédéralfederal
2Latinfoedustreaty, agreement, contract; league; pact,...
3Proto-Italicfoiðos—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeyh₂-to fear, be afraid; to strike, hit; to hew, cut

Words derived from “federal”

  • federally
  • federalist
  • nonfederal
  • federalization
  • federalize
  • antifederalist
  • federalisation
  • federalise
  • Eurofederalist
  • defederalization
  • prefederal
  • federalness
  • postfederal
  • federalese
  • defederalize
  • quasi-federalist
  • anti-federalist
  • anti-federal
  • federalizable
  • Fedzilla
  • feidearálach
  • feidearálachas
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeyh₂- →