Etymologically
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consular

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 23:53. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈkɒntsjʊlə(r)/, /ˈkɒnsjʊlə(r)/[1]
  • US: /ˈkɑːntsjʊlə(r)/, /ˈkɑːnsjʊlə(r)/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English consuler,[2][3] borrowed from Latin cōnsulāris (“of a consul”),[4][5][6][7][8] formed with the adjective suffix -āris from the noun cōnsul.[7][6] The OED compares French consulaire, of the 14th century.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, a man of consular rank: about 1374, in Chaucer's translation of Boethius, which renders Latin imperium consulare as the imperie of consulers.[4][2] As an adjective, "pertaining to a Roman consul", Etymonline dates it to the early 15th century,[5] and the Shorter Oxford dates both uses to late Middle English.[8]

Semantic evolution

At first the word referred to the consuls of ancient Rome: as a noun it meant an ex-consul under the Republic, or under the Empire a legate sent to govern a province.[4][2] Johnson (1755) gave "relating to the consul" and the phrase consular man, one who had been consul.[9] From the 17th century, according to Etymonline, it was also used of the modern office of consul in international law;[5] the OED's first record of the sense "belonging to a consul in a foreign port" is from 1841.[4] The adjective was also applied to the French Consulate of 1799–1804.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1374 – noun, a man of consular rank, in Chaucer.[4][2]
  • early 15th century – adjective, of a Roman consul.[5]
  • 1533 – of the Roman consuls, in Bellenden's translation of Livy.[4]
  • 1755 – Johnson: relating to the consul, consular man.[9]
  • 1841 – of a consul in a foreign port.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to a consul, an official appointed by a state to look after its citizens and interests in a foreign city, or to the consul's office: She applied for a visa at the consular section of the embassy.[7][4]
  2. Of or relating to the consuls of ancient Rome or their rank; also, of the French consulate of 1799–1804.[7][4][8]

Noun

  1. (historical) A person of consular rank, especially a former consul of the Roman Republic.[4][8][9]

Word family

  • nonconsular

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.