console

[kon-sohl]

noun

Also called game(s) console, gaming console, video-game console. a computer system specially made for playing video games by connecting it to a television or other display for video and sound.
the control or monitoring unit of a computer, containing the keyboard or keys, switches, etc.
a television, phonograph, or radio cabinet designed to stand on the floor rather than on a table or shelf.

a desklike structure containing the keyboards, pedals, etc., by means of which an organ is played.
a small cabinet standing on the floor and having doors.
console table.
the control unit of a mechanical, electrical, or electronic system: the console that controls a theater's lighting system.
Architecture. an ornamental corbel or bracket, especially one high in relation to its projection.
Automotive. a tray or container typically divided into compartments, mounted between bucket seats, and used for storing small items.
Nautical. a unit on a vessel containing steering apparatus, systems monitoring equipment, etc.: a bridge console, an engine-room console.

Origin of console

1700–10; < French; Middle French consolle bracket or support, apparently shortening of consolateur (attested in MF with same sense) literally, one who consoles (< Late Latin consōlātor; see console¹, -ator), perhaps because such supports served as rests in choir stalls, etc.; cf. misericord

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for game console

console

verb

to serve as a source of comfort to (someone) in disappointment, loss, sadness, etc

Derived Formsconsolable, adjectiveconsoler, nounconsolingly, adverb

Word Origin for console

C17: from Latin consōlārī, from sōlārī to comfort; see solace

console

noun

an ornamental bracket, esp one used to support a wall fixture, bust, etc
the part of an organ comprising the manuals, pedals, stops, etc
a unit on which the controls of an electronic system are mounted
same as games console
a cabinet for a television, gramophone, etc, designed to stand on the floor
See console table

Word Origin for console

C18: from French, shortened from Old French consolateur one that provides support, hence, supporting bracket, from Latin consōlātor a comforter; see console 1

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

Word Origin and History for game console

console

1690s, from French consoler "to comfort, console," from Latin consolari "offer solace, encourage, comfort, cheer," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + solari "to comfort" (see solace). Or perhaps a back-formation from consolation. The Latin word is glossed in Old English by frefran. Related: Consoled; consoling.

console

1706, "a cabinet; an ornamental base structure," from French console "a bracket" (16c.), of uncertain origin, possibly from Middle French consolateur, literally "one who consoles," word used for carved human figures supporting cornices, shelves or rails in choir stalls. Another guess connects it to Latin consolidare. Sense evolved to "body of a musical organ" (1881), "radio cabinet" (1925), then "cabinet for a TV, stereo, etc." (1944).