federal

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a member of the Union Army during the American Civil War
noun any federal law-enforcement officer
adjective national; especially in reference to the government of the United States as distinct from that of its member units

From French fédéral, from Latin stem foeder- of foedus (“covenant, league, treaty, alliance”).

The federal government exists on sufferance only. — Great Britain and the American Civil War, Ephraim Douglass Adams
Tell the truth; I'm a federal officer!" — Astounding Stories of Super-Science, December 1930, Various
This was the first Congressional hearing on federal enfranchisement. — Susan B. Anthony: Rebel, Crusader, Humanitarian, Alma Lutz

Federal soldier, Union soldier

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