Etymologically
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council

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkaʊn.səl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English concilie, later counseil and councel,[2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman cuncile and Old North French concilie,[3][2][4] from Latin concilium (“a gathering, meeting, assembly”),[3][5] from con- (“together”) and -cilium, related to calāre (“to call out, summon”),[2][6][7] from Proto-Indo-European *kele- (“to shout”).[3][5] The notion is of a calling together.[3][7] Merriam-Webster notes that its meaning was influenced by Middle English counseil “counsel”.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

An assembly of churchmen: 1125,[2] or the early 12th century, in the Church sense of an assembly of prelates and theologians regulating doctrine.[3][9]

Semantic evolution

An assembly for consultation or advice, such as a family council, is from about 1275,[9] and an assembly called together for any purpose from before 1300.[9] Council and counsel were often confused in early English;[2][3] in the 16th century council became established for the deliberative body, and counsel was restricted to the giving of advice.[2][6] Council house is from before 1393 and council chamber from 1407.[2] Councilman is from before 1637, in Ben Jonson, and councillor was altered from counsellor under the influence of council in the 14th century.[2][6] In the New Testament, from 1382, council rendered the Greek συνέδριον (sunédrion), the Sanhedrin.[9]

Timeline

  • 1125 – an assembly of churchmen.[2]
  • c. 1275 – an assembly for advice.[9]
  • 1382 – the Sanhedrin, in the New Testament.[9]
  • before 1393 – council house.[2]
  • 1407 – council chamber.[2]
  • 16th century – distinguished from counsel.[2]
  • before 1637 – councilman.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An assembly of people called together for consultation or discussion.
  2. A body of people elected or appointed to govern or advise, as of a town.
  3. An assembly of church officials and theologians: an ecumenical council.

Word family

  • councilperson
  • subcouncil
  • councillor
  • councilor
  • councilman
  • councilmember
  • councilwoman
  • church council

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary notes that council, counsel and consul are never interchangeable: council refers mainly to a deliberative assembly and its members, counsel to advice or to a person who gives it, such as a lawyer, and consul to an officer in a country's foreign service.[10]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin