confederate

     Confederate is a word, with a meaning having nothing to do with the one-time Confederate States of America---the Southern states that attempted to secede from the union, resulting in the American Civil War. A confederate is a cohort, a partner in crime or some other business--with the connotation that the business is disreputable. This connotation must not have been current at the time of the Civil War, or the confederate states would not have named themselves as they did. A confederate ( a noun--a thing or idea) is a partner of some kind--to confederate  ( a verb--an action or doing word) is to make such a partnership. A confederacy would be what the confederates made--the group organized for some purpose--a partnership.