Eidgenosse

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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.