consul

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈkõː.sʊɫ]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkɔn.sul]^[1]

Forms

cōnsul m (genitive cōnsulis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is probably a root noun formed to the verb cōnsulere, which de Vaan takes to have meant “to get together, deliberate”, from Proto-Italic *kom-sel- (“adviser”) and Proto-Indo-European *s(e)lh₁- (“to take”).^[2][3] The verb seems to be the original, since a verb made from the noun would be *cōnsulāre, and cōnsilium was derived from the noun.^[2] An alternative derivation from *kom-sed- “sitting together” is attractive in meaning but formally unlikely.^[2] The old spellings consol and cosol appear in early inscriptions.^[3][4] Roman writers explained the title from consulting the people and the Senate.^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Varro,^[6] but it is much older: the Scipio epitaphs have consol and cosol, and Ennius writes Quintus pater quartum fit consul “Quintus' father becomes consul for the fourth time”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It was the title of the two highest magistrates of the Roman Republic, elected each year, and was used loosely for a consul-elect or a proconsul, pro consule meant a proconsul governing a province.^[3][7] Since the consuls gave their names to the year, Pisone Gabinio consulibus meant “in the consulship of Piso and Gabinius”, and Tibullus calls for Falernian wine “of an old consul”.^[3][8] It was also the title of the chief magistrate in other towns.^[3]

After the annual consulship ended in 534 it survived as a hereditary title in some Roman families and as a title of papal officials, and in medieval towns consules were members of the town council.^[9][6] English borrowed it in the late 14th century, and its modern sense of a state's agent abroad began with representatives chosen by communities of merchants living in foreign ports.^[10]

Timeline

• 3rd century BC – The Scipio epitaphs write it consol and cosol.^[3]
• 204–169 BC – Ennius mentions a fourth consulship.^[3][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero says he was elected consul at his first attempt.^[3][6]
• 534 AD – The annual consulship comes to an end.^[9]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as English consul.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A consul, one of the two chief magistrates of Rome; loosely, a consul-elect or proconsul.^[3][7]
2. pro consule: a proconsul.^[3]
3. The chief magistrate of another state or town.^[3]
4. (in dating) The consul as eponym of the year.^[3]
5. (Medieval Latin) A hereditary title; a papal official; a member of a town council.^[9]

Word family

• cōnsulāris
• cōnsulāritās
• cōnsulāriter
• cōnsulārius
• cōnsulātus
• prōcōnsul
• prōcōnsulāris
• prōcōnsulātus

Related words

• cōnsultātiō
• cōnsultātor
• cōnsultē
• cōnsultō
• cōnsultum
• cōnsultus
• cōnsulō
• cōnsilium
• English consul
• English counsel

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com