confederation - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

con·fed·er·a·tion

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

—Synonyms 3. coalition, federation. See alliance.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
confederation

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

con·fed·er·a·tion Audio Help (kən-fěd'ə-rā'shən) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. The act of forming into or becoming part of a confederacy.
2. The state of being confederated.
3. The union of the British North American colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada, brought about July 1, 1867, under the name Dominion of Canada.
4. The federal union of all the Canadian provinces and territories, the most recent member being Newfoundland in 1949.
A group of confederates, especially of states or nations, united for a common purpose; a league.
Confederation
1. The union of the British North American colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada, brought about July 1, 1867, under the name Dominion of Canada.
2. The federal union of all the Canadian provinces and territories, the most recent member being Newfoundland in 1949.

con·fed'er·a'tion·ism n., con·fed'er·a'tion·ist n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

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

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
conˌfedeˈration noun

(the forming of) a league or alliance, especially of states etc

Arabic:	اتِّحادُ دُوَل
Chinese (Simplified):	邦联
Chinese (Traditional):	邦聯
Czech:	konfederace, spojení
Danish:	forbund; sammenslutning
Dutch:	statenbond
Estonian:	riikide liit, konföderatsioon
Finnish:	valtio, valtioliitto
French:	confédération
German:	der Bund
Greek:	(συν)ομοσπονδία
Hungarian:	államszövetség
Icelandic:	sambandsmyndun; bandalag
Italian:	confederazione
Japanese:	連合

Korean:	연맹; 동맹
Latvian:	konfederācija
Lithuanian:	konfederacija
Norwegian:	forbund, (kon)føderasjon, samband
Polish:	konfederacja
Portuguese (Brazil):	confederação
Portuguese (Portugal):	confederação
Romanian:	confederaţie
Russian:	конфедерация
Slovak:	konfederácia
Slovenian:	konfederacija
Spanish:	confederación
Swedish:	statsförbund, konfederation
Turkish:	konfederasyon, birleşmiş devletler topluluğu

See also: confederacy, confederate

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
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

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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