Etymologically
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councillor

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Etymology

It is an alteration of counsellor by association with council,[1][2][3][4] and Dictionary.com takes it as formed from English council + -or, replacing conseiler (“adviser”).[5] The Century Dictionary, quoted by Etymonline, notes that neither French nor Latin had a separate form for a member of a council, as if from a hypothetical Latin *conciliarius, beside cōnsiliārius (“counsellor”).[4] The noun council itself comes from Latin concilium (“meeting, gathering”), through Anglo-Norman and Old French.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A member of a council: in the 15th century,[1] early in that century according to Etymonline.[4]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that the split between councillor, a member of a council, and counsellor, one who gives advice, is modern.[4] The word was used of members of a ruler's council of state (compare privy councillor), of the council of a colonial government, and of a town, city or county council.[6] In Canada before Confederation a councillor was an appointed member of the Executive or Legislative Council, a sense now kept only in Quebec,[7] and in Prince Edward Island one of two members of the Legislative Assembly elected for each riding.[8] The derivative councillorship dates from the late 16th century.[3]

Timeline

  • 15th century – a member of a council.[1][4]
  • late 16th century – councillorship.[3]
  • 1836 – in Canada, a member of the Legislative or Executive Council.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A member of a council, especially an elected member of a local or municipal council: She was re-elected as a parish councillor.[9][8][3]
  2. (Canada, historical) An appointed member of a colonial Executive or Legislative Council.[7][8]

Word family

  • councillorship

Usage notes

Councillor is the usual British and Canadian spelling, and councilor the American one.[9][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  2. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Dollinger, Stefan, ed., A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles, 3rd ed. (online), Vancouver: University of British Columbia, dchp.arts.ubc.ca
  8. ^ a b c d Barber, Katherine, ed. (2004), The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, 2nd ed., Toronto: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins