consultant
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Pronunciation
- IPA: /kənˈsʌl.tənt/[1]
Etymology
It is probably borrowed from French consultant, from Latin consultans (“consulting”), the present participle of consultāre (see consult);[2][3][4] Etymonline describes it as consult and -ant.[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
A person who consults an oracle: 1697.[6][2][5]
Semantic evolution
In medicine, a physician called in by the attending doctor to give an opinion, it is from 1878 in the OED, by 1872 in Etymonline, perhaps after French usage of 1867.[6][5] A person qualified to give professional advice in general is first attested in 1893, in a Sherlock Holmes story.[5][6] Consultancy is from 1955.[5] In Britain a consultant is a senior hospital specialist.[7]
Timeline
- 1697 – one who consults an oracle.[6]
- 1872 – a consulting physician.[5]
- 1893 – a professional adviser.[5][6]
- 1955 – consultancy.[5]
Modern meaning
Noun
- A person who gives expert or professional advice.
- (British) A senior hospital physician, especially a specialist.
- A person who consults another.
Word family
- consultantship
Related words
- consult
- consultancy
- consultative
- consultation
- counsel
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins