federal [E17th] Latin foedus ‘treaty, agreement’ came from the same base as fidere ‘trust’ (see faith). It was first used of the United States government at the Continental Congress in 1783. Confederate [LME] is from Latin confoederatus ‘joined together in a league or treaty’, with the Confederate States, the eleven southern states of the USA, lasting as a confederacy [LME] from 1860 to 1865.