great council

American

noun

(in Norman England) an assembly composed of the king's tenants in chief that served as the principal council of the realm and replaced the witenagemot.
(formerly in Italy) the municipal council in some towns or cities, as in Venice.

great council British

noun

(in medieval England) an assembly of the great nobles and prelates to advise the king

"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

Etymology

Origin of great council

First recorded in 1730–40

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said recently he wanted to expose the "great council cash-cow cover-up" over parking.

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2013

In medieval times, whether in the great council of the church or in secular parliament, the assent of everybody was esteemed as the ideal.

From Time Magazine Archive

Four of them met in the great council room of the castle.

From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman

There these natural scavengers held a great council, at which they partitioned among themselves the inheritance of man.

From Tales From J?kai by J?kai, M?r

Before this great council John Huss appeared and maintained his own tenets.

From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 6 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Discussions by Ingersoll, Robert Green

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023