confederate
/kənˈfɛdəɹət/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.70 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of, relating to, or united in a confederacy
adj
noun
A member of a confederacy.
noun
An accomplice in a plot.
noun
An accomplice in a plot.
verb
To unite persons or states in a league, confederacy or conspiracy; to ally, league.
adj
Of or relating to the Confederate States of America.
Example Sentences
- "All the swords / In Italy, and her confederate arms, / Could not have made this peace."
- "Hour after hour, remote from the world's throng, Work, contest, fame, all life's confederate pleas"
- "Remember as thou read'ſt, thy promiſe paſt : I do repent me, reade not my name there, My heart is not confederate with my hand."
- "And it was told the house of Dauid, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim: and his heart was moued, and the heart of his people as the trees of the wood are mooued with the wind."
- "By'th'vvay, vve met my vvife, her ſiſter, and a rabble more Of vilde confederates : […]"
- "He found some of his confederates in gaol."
Etymology
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.
Origin
- Source language: Middle English
- First known use: First attested in 1387
Word Breakdown
- Root: *bʰeydʰ-, confederat, cōnfoederātus
Usage
Inflected Forms
more confederate (comparative)
most confederate (superlative)
confœderate (alternative, obsolete)
confederates (plural)
confederates (present, singular)
confederating (participle, present)
confederated (participle, past)
confederated (past)
Derived Forms
Phrases
Confederate flag
Confederate States
Confederate States of America
Confederate Decoration Day
Confederate Heroes Day
Confederate Memorial Day