consiglio

Forms

consiglio m (plural consigli)^[1] Old Italian forms include conseglio, consei, conseio and consillo.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin cōnsilium (“deliberation; council; advice”), from cōnsulō (“to consult, deliberate”).^[4][5][6][1] Meyer-Lübke lists it among the regular Romance outcomes of the Latin noun, while Nocentini classes it as a word taken from Latin.^[7][8] The noun is found across the Romance languages: French conseil, Old Occitan coselh, Catalan consell, Spanish consejo and Portuguese conselho.^[8][7]

De Vaan explains the noun as Proto-Italic *kom-sel-io-, derived from Latin cōnsul, and the verb from Proto-Indo-European *selh₁- (“to take”), with the prefix com-.^[9] Nocentini compares Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (saljan, “to offer”) and sell.^[8][9] A derivation from a root meaning “to sit together” suits the meaning but, in de Vaan's view, not the form.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Postilla amiatina of 1087.^[2] DELI dates the sense “advice, warning given to help someone” to Giacomo da Lentini (before 1250): “e chi non ha consiglio da suo core / non vive infra la gente como deve” (and whoever has no counsel from his own heart does not live among people as he should).^[4][10]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the word already had most of its Latin senses.^[4][2] “Decision, resolution” is recorded in Brunetto Latini (before 1294), “a meeting to deliberate” in Bono Giamboni (before 1292), “prudence, good judgement” in Dante (1304–1308) and “a council, a governing body” in Dino Compagni (1310–1312).^[4] The TLIO also records counsel as comfort and help, the divine will, and one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.^[2] Venice had its Gran Consiglio from about 1172.^[11]

The verb consigliare appears in 1219 as consilliare, in the Breve di Montieri, and consigliere in the same year;^[4] DELI takes consigliere from Old French conseillier.^[4] Modern Italian keeps the old sense of decision in phrases such as mutare consiglio and venire a più miti consigli, and the proverb la notte porta consiglio advises sleeping on a decision.^[12][6]

Timeline

• 1087 – The word appears in the Postilla amiatina.^[2]
• 1219 – Consilliare and consilliere appear in the Breve di Montieri.^[4]
• Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses it for advice.^[4]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for a meeting to deliberate.^[4]
• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for a decision.^[4]
• 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni uses it for a council.^[4]
• 1898 – Consiliare “of a council” is recorded in D'Annunzio.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. advice, a suggestion meant to help someone decide or act; a professional opinion: Ho seguito il consiglio del medico e ho smesso di fumare.^{[5][6][13][1]}
2. A warning, sometimes a veiled threat: Ti do un consiglio: stai lontano da lui.^[5][14]
3. A meeting or consultation to decide on matters of common interest: tenere consiglio.^[5][13][12]
4. A council, a body with advisory or deciding powers: consiglio comunale, Consiglio dei ministri, consiglio di amministrazione (board of directors).^[5][12][1]
5. (literary) Good sense, prudence; in religion, one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.^[5][6][12]
6. (literary) A decision, resolve: mutare consiglio (to change one's mind).^[6][12][15]

Word family

• consigliare
• consigliere
• consigliabile
• consiliare
• sconsigliare
• sconsigliato

Related words

• consiliatura
• console
• consultare
• Latin cōnsilium
• French conseil

Usage notes

Consiglio “advice” is countable: one gives un consiglio or dei consigli.^[5][6] Set phrases include la notte porta consiglio and venire a più miti consigli (to moderate one's demands).^[12][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3
11. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 323
12. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli