consul

[ kon-suhl ]

noun

1. an official appointed by the government of one country to look after its commercial interests and the welfare of its citizens in another country.
2. either of the two chief magistrates of the ancient Roman republic.
3. French History. one of the three supreme magistrates of the First Republic during the period 1799–1804.

consul

/ ˈkɒnsjʊlə; ˈkɒnsəl /

noun

1. an official appointed by a sovereign state to protect its commercial interests and aid its citizens in a foreign city
2. (in ancient Rome) either of two annually elected magistrates who jointly exercised the highest authority in the republic
3. (in France from 1799 to 1804) any of the three chief magistrates of the First Republic

Confusables Note

See council.

Derived Forms

• ˈconsulˌship, noun
• consular, adjective

Other Words From

• con·su·lar adjective
• con·sul·ship noun
• sub·con·sul noun
• sub·con·sul·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of consul¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin; a derivative of consulere “to take counsel, consult”; consult

Word History and Origins

Origin of consul¹

C14: from Latin, from consulere to consult

Example Sentences

The consul had led me through a magnificent garden—whose name I unfortunately don’t remember—to “meet” three trees that had survived the bomb.

From Nautilus

No one would have guessed it from looking at him, but the consul was well over 80 years old, and he had had a lot to drink.

From Nautilus

During his career, he had served his country as consul in Italy for many years, and he had learned the language.

From Nautilus

In the early 1990s he was British trade commissioner to China, and later first secretary at the British embassy in Beijing, and consul for Macau.

From Quartz

HashiCorp to offer managed versions of its developer tools starting with Consul

From TechCrunch

“The Syrian war is having its effects here as well,” said Yehyavi, the Iranian consul general in Quetta.

From The Daily Beast

The U.S. position is that as a consul, Khobragade was not immune from arrest for allegedly under-paying her maid.

From The Daily Beast

The Japanese consul in Alexandria was sending the Germans reports on the movement of the Mediterranean Fleet.

From The Daily Beast

The consul was a keen golfer, so Cunningham ostentatiously visited the clubhouse with his clubs and an overnight bag.

From The Daily Beast

But the consul denied there had been any kind of direct Sandinista pressure to cut off funding for the group.

From The Daily Beast

He was in early life a shipcarpenter, and subsequently American consul at Antwerp.

From Project Gutenberg

He was further instructed to hand over his consulate archives to the British Consul, who would take charge of American interests.

From Project Gutenberg

Scarcely a year passed in which his name was not connected with some conspiracy to overthrow the First Consul.

From Project Gutenberg

Thanks to Massna's warm introduction and his own reputation, he found himself cordially received by the First Consul.

From Project Gutenberg

The relations between Ney and the First Consul soon became closer.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• envoy