consul
nounUK /ˈkɒn.səl/ · US /ˈkɑn.səl/
Etymology From Middle English consul, from Old English consul, from Latin cōnsul.
8 senses
- 1Either of the two heads of government and state of the…
- 2Any of the three heads of government and state of France…
- 3A count or earl.
- 4A member of early modern city councils in southern…
- 5An officer of the trading and merchant companies of…
- 6An official in various early modern port and trading…
- 7An official residing in major foreign towns to represent…
- 8A high government official, generally either a coruler…
Historical Either of the two heads of government and state of the Roman Republic or the equivalent nominal post under the Roman and Byzantine Empires.
Historical Any of the three heads of government and state of France between 1799 and 1804.
Obsolete A count or earl.
› A councillor
Historical, Obsolete A member of early modern city councils in southern France and Catalonia.
Historical, Obsolete An officer of the trading and merchant companies of early modern England.
Historical, Obsolete An official in various early modern port and trading towns, elected by resident foreign merchants to settle disputes among themselves and to represent them to the local authorities.
Broadly An official residing in major foreign towns to represent and protect the interests of the merchants and citizens of their country.
Obsolete A high government official, generally either a coruler himself or a counsellor directly under the ruler.
- Both we will raigne as Conſuls of the earth, And mightie kings ſhall be our Senators.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
- And many of the Conſuls, rais'd and met, Are at the Dukes already.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 312, column 1:
1 more example
- With kinges and conſules of the earth, which build themſelves ſolitarie places:1609, The Holie Bible, […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Doway: Laurence Kellam, […], →OCLC, Iob 3:14, page 1065:
- Synonyms
- count, councillor, early modern councilmen of southern France and Catalonia, counsellor
- Derived terms
- coconsul, consulacy, consulage, consuless, consul general, consul-general, consuling, consulship, first consul, honorary consul, honourary consul, vice-consul
- Related terms
- consular, consularity, consulary, consulate, ambassador