From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Confederacy \Con*fed"er*a*cy\, n. (Amer. Hist.)
With the, the Confederate States of America.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Confederacy \Con*fed"er*a*cy\, n.; pl. Confederacies. [From
Confederate, a.]
1. A league or compact between two or more persons, bodies of
men, or states, for mutual support or common action;
alliance.
[1913 Webster]
The friendships of the world are oft
Confederacies in vice or leagues of pleasure.
--Addison.
[1913 Webster]
He hath heard of our confederacy. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Virginia promoted a confederacy. --Bancroft.
[1913 Webster]
2. The persons, bodies, states, or nations united by a
league; a confederation.
[1913 Webster]
The Grecian common wealth, . . . the most heroic
confederacy that ever existed. --Harris.
[1913 Webster]
Virgil has a whole confederacy against him.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Law) A combination of two or more persons to commit an
unlawful act, or to do a lawful act by unlawful means. See
Conspiracy.
Syn: League; compact; alliance; association; union;
combination; confederation.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
Confederacy
n 1: the southern states that seceded from the United States in
1861 [syn: Confederacy, Confederate States,
Confederate States of America, South, Dixie,
Dixieland]
2: a union of political organizations [syn: confederation,
confederacy, federation]
3: a group of conspirators banded together to achieve some
harmful or illegal purpose [syn: conspiracy, confederacy]
4: a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an
unlawful act [syn: conspiracy, confederacy]