consort

[ noun kon-sawrt, verb kuhn-sawrt ]
See synonyms for consort on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a husband or wife; spouse, especially of a reigning monarch.: Compare prince consort, queen consort.

  2. one vessel or ship accompanying another.

  1. Music.

    • a group of instrumentalists and singers who perform music, especially old music.

    • a group of instruments of the same family, as viols, played in concert.

  2. a companion, associate, or partner: a confidant and consort of heads of state.

  3. accord or agreement.

  4. Obsolete.

    • company or association.

    • harmony of sounds.

verb (used without object)
  1. to associate; keep company: to consort with known criminals.

  2. to agree or harmonize.

verb (used with object)
  1. to associate, join, or unite.

  2. Obsolete.

    • to accompany; espouse.

    • to sound in harmony.

Origin of consort

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin consort- (stem of consors ) “sharer,” originally, “sharing” (adjective); see origin at con-, sort

Other words from consort

  • con·sort·a·ble, adjective
  • con·sort·er, noun
  • con·sor·tion, noun
  • non·con·sort·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use consort in a sentence

  • "Never," said O'Reilly, affecting an air of unconcern, very ill consorting with his pale cheek and anxious eye.

  • Those tactics were simple; they consisted in preventing men from blaspheming against God and consorting with light women.

  • Hun Rhavas had seen them consorting together and whispering among themselves the day of the sale of the late censor's slaves.

    "Unto Caesar" | Baroness Emmuska Orczy
  • She had a dim recollection of having seen a worn Bible consorting oddly with the other books in that cupboard.

    A German Pompadour | Marie Hay

British Dictionary definitions for consort

consort

verb(kənˈsɔːt)
  1. (intr usually foll by with) to keep company (with undesirable people); associate

  2. (intr) to agree or harmonize

  1. (tr) rare to combine or unite

noun(ˈkɒnsɔːt)
  1. (esp formerly)

    • a small group of instruments, either of the same type, such as viols, (a whole consort) or of different types (a broken consort)

    • (as modifier): consort music

  2. the husband or wife of a reigning monarch

  1. a partner or companion, esp a husband or wife

  2. a ship that escorts another

  3. obsolete

    • companionship or association

    • agreement or accord

Origin of consort

1
C15: from Old French, from Latin consors sharer, partner, from sors lot, fate, portion

Derived forms of consort

  • consortable, adjective
  • consorter, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012