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Confederacy - 6 dictionary results

con⋅fed⋅er⋅a⋅cy

  [kuhn-fed-er-uh-see, -fed-ruh-see]
Use Confederacy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -cies.
1. an alliance between persons, parties, states, etc., for some purpose.
2. a group of persons, parties, states, etc., united by such a confederacy.
3. a combination of persons for unlawful purposes; conspiracy.
4. the Confederacy. Confederate States of America.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME confederacie < AF; see confederate, -acy

Confederate States of America

 
–plural noun
the group of 11 Southern states that seceded from the United States in 1860–61.
Also called the Confederacy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Confederacy
con·fed·er·a·cy   (kən-fěd'ər-ə-sē)   
n.   pl. con·fed·er·a·cies
    1. A union of persons, parties, or states; a league.
    2. The persons, parties, or states joined in such a union.
    3. Confederacy The Confederate States of America.
  2. A group of people who have united for unlawful practices; a conspiracy.

[Middle English confederacie, from Anglo-Norman, from Late Latin cōnfoederātiō, cōnfoederātiōn-, agreement, from cōnfoederātus, past participle of confoederāre, to unite; see confederate.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Confederacy

Con*fed"er*a*cy\, n.; pl. Confederacies. [From Confederate, a.]

1. A league or compact between two or more persons, bodies of men, or states, for mutual support or common action; alliance.

The friendships of the world are oft Confederacies in vice or leagues of pleasure. --Addison.

He hath heard of our confederacy. --Shak.

Virginia promoted a confederacy. --Bancroft.

2. The persons, bodies, states, or nations united by a league; a confederation.

The Grecian common wealth, . . . the most heroic confederacy that ever existed. --Harris.

Virgil has a whole confederacy against him. --Dryden.

3. (Law) A combination of two or more persons to commit an unlawful act, or to do a lawful act by unlawful means. See Conspiracy.

Syn: League; compact; alliance; association; union; combination; confederation.

Confederacy

Con*fed"er*a*cy\, n. (Amer. Hist.) With the, the Confederate States of America.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Confederacy
Spanish: confederación,
German: das Bündnis,
Japanese: 連合
More Translations »

Confederacy

The Confederate States of America; the government formed in 1861 by southern states that proclaimed their secession from the United States. Jefferson Davis was its president. The Confederacy was dissolved after the Civil War. (Compare Union.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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