Meaning

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

originEtymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰós Proto-Italic *feiðos Latin foedusder. French fédéralder. English federal From French fédéral, from Latin stem foeder- of foedus (“covenant, league, treaty, alliance”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0