confœderacy

Noun

confederacy (plural confederacies)

1. An alliance.
2. A state where the sovereign constituent units delegate their authority to the centre.

   Synonyms:

   confederation

3. Specifically, an instance of a decentralized governing structure among the indigenous peoples of North America.
   • The Blackfoot, Iroquois, and Sioux peoples all were governed as confederacies. There were also multi-ethnic confederacies, such as the Iron Confederacy made up of the Plains Cree, Assiniboine, Stoney, and Saulteaux.

See all 4 meanings of confederacy