Fecundity

[Fr. fécond ité, from Lat. fecund us.) Fruitfulne ; the quality of producing or bringing forth in abundance, particularly the power in female animals of producing their young in great numbers. - Power of bringing forth; fertility; richne of invention; as, the fecundity of his intellect. Fed, imp . and pp . of FEED, q. v. Federal, a : [Fr. fédéral , from Lat. foedus , a covenant.] Derived from an agreement or covenant; pertaining to a league, contract, or treaty, especially between states or nations; founded on compact by treaty or mutual agreement; as, a federal union of states. "Contrary to all federal right and justice."-Grew. F. government. A government formed by the union of several sovereign states, each surrendering a portion of its power to the central authority. But the amount of the power thus surrendered varies in different federations. Thus, the government of the German empire as it existed before the French revolution, and that of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, were both termed F .; and the Swi cantons, under the present Swi constitution, have retained more of their individual sovereignty than those of the United States of America, inasmuch as they have no permanent federal executive body, and their legislature, or diet , is little more than a meeting of delegates with full powers from separate republics to consider certain common concerns. (See DIET.) The theory of our constitution, on the contrary, recognizes not only unity in respect of foreign relations, but also a common legislature, which alone has the right to impose certain taxes (such as customs), to regulate the management of waste or public lands throughout the Union, ., as well as a permanent common executive, consisting of the president and his cabinet, charged with the superintendence of those branches of administration which regard the whole community. Federal, Federalist, n. [Fr. fédéraliste .] One who upholds the doctrine of confederation.