con·fed·er·a·tion
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n-fed-uh-rey-shuh
n] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [kuh
n-fed-uh-rey-shuh
n] Pronunciation Key –noun
| 1. | the act of confederating. |
| 2. | the state of being confederated. |
| 3. | a league or alliance. |
| 4. | a group of confederates, esp. of states more or less permanently united for common purposes. |
| 5. | the Confederation, the union of the 13 original U.S. states under the Articles of Confederation 1781–89. |
| 6. | (initial capital letter ) the federation of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, formed in 1867 and constituting the Dominion of Canada. |
[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME < LL confoederātiōn- (s. of confoederātiō) an agreement, equiv. to confoederāt(us) confederate + -iōn- -ion
]
] —Related forms
con·fed·er·a·tion·ism, noun
con·fed·er·a·tion·ist, noun
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
confederation
To learn more about confederation visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| con·fed·er·a·tion
Audio Help (kən-fěd'ə-rā'shən) Pronunciation Key
n.
con·fed'er·a'tion·ism n., con·fed'er·a'tion·ist n. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| confederation | |
noun | |
| 1. | the state of being allied or confederated [syn: alliance] |
| 2. | a union of political organizations |
| 3. | the act of forming an alliance or confederation |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
conˌfedeˈration noun
(the forming of) a league or alliance, especially of states etc
See also: confederacy, confederate
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
confederation
A group of nations or states, or a government encompassing several states or political divisions, in which the component states retain considerable independence. The members of a confederation often delegate only a few powers to the central authority.
Note: The United States was governed as a confederation in the first few years of its independence (see Articles of Confederation).
Note: Canada is officially a confederation of provinces.
[Chapter:] World Politics
| The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
Confederation
Con*fed`er*a"tion\, n. [L. confoederatio: cf. F. conf['e]d['e]ration.]1. The act of confederating; a league; a compact for mutual support; alliance, particularly of princes, nations, or states. The three princes enter into some strict league and confederation among themselves. --Bacon. This was no less than a political confederation of the colonies of New England. --Palfrey. 2. The parties that are confederated, considered as a unit; a confederacy. Articles of confederation. See under Article.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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