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consultus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word consultus

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*selh₁-)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kõːˈsʊɫ.tʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [konˈsul.tus][1]

Forms

cōnsultus (feminine cōnsulta, neuter cōnsultum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is the perfect passive participle of cōnsulō “to deliberate, consult”.[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨cōnsulō⟩ to Proto-Italic *kom-sel-e/o- (“to consult”), from Proto-Indo-European *s(e)lh₁-e/o- (“to take”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Plautus.[4] The OLD's earliest citations as an adjective are from Cicero.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC and Cicero 81–43 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective it meant skilled, practised, learned, especially in law, as in Cicero; and planned, considered, well-advised, as in Cicero's omnia cōnsulta et exquīsīta “everything weighed and studied”.[2][5] iūris cōnsultus or iūre cōnsultus, sometimes one word, or cōnsultus alone, was a lawyer, jurist.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of legal learning.[2][4]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace uses it as a noun.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Skilled, learned, especially in law.[2]
  2. Planned, considered; well-advised, prudent.[2]

Noun

  1. iūris cōnsultus: a lawyer, jurist.[2]

Word family

Usage notes

A fourth-declension noun cōnsultus “decree”, for cōnsultum, is found only in Isidore's senātūs cōnsultus.[6][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Consultus.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/consultus. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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