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(Redirected from Eidgenossen)
'''Eidgenosse''' is a compound word in German meaning a Swiss person. Like many compound German words, the meaning of the individual words making up the compound word gives little clue to its final meaning (compare to the word ''pineapple'' in English). The word ''Eid'' means oath, and ''Genosse'' means comrade. ''Eidgenosse'' literally means something like "comrade in oath". Its true meaning, a Swiss, comes from the 1291 foundation of the Swiss Confederation, where Cantonal representatives took an oath to come to each other's aid in case of attack. Compare to the use of the word ''Confederate'' in the United States to denote a person from the former Confederate States of America.
The official name of Switzerland in German is the ''Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft'' usually translated as ''Swiss Confederation''. The nation is sometimes referred to simply as an ''Eidgenossenschaft'' - i.e. a society of comrades in oath.