English
federalist
Federalist comes from French fédéral, from Latin foedus ‘treaty, compact, alliance, truce, league’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ- ‘to trust’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeydʰ-1‘to trust’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeydʰós1‘faithful, trustworthy’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*feiðos1‘faithful, reliable’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfoedus1‘treaty, compact, alliance, truce, league’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfédéral1
- English1500–presentfederal1
- Englishtodayfederalist1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English federalist
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeydʰ-Wiktionary, English federalist‘to trust’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeydʰósWiktionary, English federalist‘faithful, trustworthy’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*feiðosWiktionary, English federalist‘faithful, reliable’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfoedusWiktionary, English federalist‘treaty, compact, alliance, truce, league’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfédéralWiktionary, English federalist
- English1500–presentfederalWiktionary, English federalist
- EnglishtodayfederalistWiktionary, English federalist
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ- ‘to trust’
confidence, confident, abide, affidavit, defiance, fidelity, fiduciary, confidant, bode, confide, foi, infidel, bide, fealty, diffident, perfidy, 26 more
through Proto-Italic *feiðos ‘faithful, reliable’
through Latin foedus ‘treaty, compact, alliance, truce, league’
Today it means
noun Advocate of federalism.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “federalist”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ- / federalist