confederacy
noun /kənˈfedərəsi/
/kənˈfedərəsi/
- [countable] a union of states, groups of people or political parties with the same aim
- the Confederacy[singular](also the Confederate States)the eleven southern states of the US that left the United States in 1860–1, starting the American Civil War
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French confederacie, based on Latin confoederare ‘join together in league’, from con- ‘together’ + foederare ‘join in league with’.