conseil

Forms

conseil m (plural conseils)^[1] Old French nominative consels, conseus, consaus, oblique consel.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French conseil, inherited from Latin cōnsilium (“deliberation; deliberative assembly; plan, purpose; advice”), from cōnsulō (“to deliberate, consult”) (see consulter).^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

Cognate with Italian consiglio, Occitan conselh, Catalan consell, Spanish consejo, Portuguese conselho and Romanian consiliu.^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Léger (10th century) has it in the sense of advice given to someone about what to do; the Passion (late 10th century) in the sense of a well-considered plan.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) a conseil is a gathering of people who deliberate, and the deliberation itself, a sense very much alive in the names of institutions: the town council of Lille (1242), the conseil d'État (16th century), the conseil municipal (1790), the conseil général (1871) and the conseil régional (1972).^[3][4] Belgium has conseils communaux, and Swiss cantons a Conseil d'État.^[4]

The proverb la nuit porte conseil “sleep on it” is in Cotgrave (1611), and theology opposed the conseils évangéliques to the precepts (Furetière, 1690).^[3][4] From the late 12th century the word also meant an adviser, a sense largely taken over by conseiller but kept in professions: conseil juridique, ingénieur-conseil.^[3][4]

Timeline

• c. 980 – A considered plan, Passion de Clermont.^[4][10]
• 10th century – Advice, Vie de saint Léger.^[3]
• c. 1100 – An assembly that deliberates, Chanson de Roland.^[3]
• late 12th century – An adviser.^[3]
• 1242 – A town council.^[3]
• 1611 – La nuit donne conseil, Cotgrave.^[3]
• 1790 – Conseil municipal.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A piece of advice: donner un conseil, demander conseil, la nuit porte conseil.^[8][1]
2. A council, board: conseil municipal, conseil d'administration, conseil des ministres.^[1][4]
3. The meeting of such a body.^[3][8]
4. An adviser, consultant: conseil juridique, ingénieur-conseil.^[4][8]

Word family

• conseiller
• déconseiller
• conseilleur

Related words

• consulter
• consul
• Latin cōnsilium

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1071a
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse