consul English · revision 911

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkɒn.səl/, /ˈkɑn.səl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|consul]], [[bor|fro|consul]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) and directly [[der|la|cōnsul|t=Roman magistrate]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) probably originally “one who consults the Senate”, from ''cōnsulere'' “to deliberate, consult”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) though Random House says the relationship of the two words is unclear.^(RHWU) Old English glossed the Latin word as ''gērcyning'', “year-king”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Either of the two annually elected magistrates who exercised supreme authority in the Roman Republic (1382 in the OED; about 1384 in Barnhart).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the Middle Ages the word was used as an equivalent of ''count'' or ''earl'',^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and for the head of a body of merchants of one nation living in a foreign town, a sense first developed in Spanish in the 13th century (c. 1320 in English).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) From this came the modern sense, an official appointed by a state to live abroad and protect the commercial interests and citizens of his country (1599).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) In French history the three chief magistrates of 1799–1804 were the consuls, the First Consul being Napoleon.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1382 – a Roman consul.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1320 – the head of a body of foreign merchants.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1387 – ''consulate''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1599 – a government's representative abroad.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1802 – a consul of the French Republic.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An official appointed by a government to live in a foreign city, represent its commercial interests and help its citizens there.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(history)'' Either of the two chief magistrates of the [[Roman Republic]], elected for a year.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(history)'' Any of the three chief magistrates of the French Republic from 1799 to 1804.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[consular]]

+ * [[consulship]]

+ * [[consul general]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[consulate]]

+ * [[consult]]

+ * [[counsel]]

+ * [[ambassador]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}