proconsul

[ proh-kon-suh l ]

/ proʊˈkɒn səl /

noun

Roman History. an official, usually a former consul, who acted as governor or military commander of a province, and who had powers similar to those of a consul.

any appointed administrator over a dependency or an occupied area.

Nearby words

proclivity, proclus, procne, procoagulant, procollagen, proconsul, proconsulate, proconvertin, procopius, procrastinate, procrastination

Origin of proconsul

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin prōconsul; see pro-¹, consul

Related formspro·con·su·lar, adjectivepro·con·su·lar·ly, adverb

Definition for proconsul (2 of 2)

Proconsul

[ proh-kon-suh l ]

/ proʊˈkɒn səl /

noun

an African subgenus of Dryopithecus that lived 17–20 million years ago and is possibly ancestral to modern hominoids.

Origin of Proconsul

< New Latin (1933), equivalent to pro- pro-¹ + Consul, allegedly the name of a chimpanzee in a London zoo (with a pun on Latin prōconsul proconsul); the genus was thought to be ancestral to the chimpanzee

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for proconsul

Government authority then rested with the Coalition Provisional Authority proconsul L. Paul Bremer.
What If the Iraq War Never Happened?|Michael Ware|March 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The Proconsul half arose in his seat by way of protestation, as if he would forbid.
Saronia|Richard Short
At one end of this large hall was a broad alcove, raised a single step, and here was laid the dinner for the proconsul.
A Friend of Caesar|William Stearns Davis
At the expiration of his year of office, the Consul was sent to govern a province for one year, and was then called the Proconsul.
History of Rome from the Earliest times down to 476 AD|Robert F. Pennell

"The proconsul dines at this hour," had been Fleury's curt reply.
Lord Tony's Wife|Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Even if the proconsul should ask me himself who my god is, I am dumb.
The Apologia and Florida of Apuleius of Madaura|Lucius Apuleius

British Dictionary definitions for proconsul

proconsul

/ (prəʊˈkɒnsəl) /

noun

an administrator or governor of a colony, occupied territory, or other dependency

(in ancient Rome) the governor of a senatorial province

Derived Formsproconsular (prəʊˈkɒnsjʊlə), adjectiveproconsulate or proconsulship, noun

Word Origin for proconsul

C14: from Latin, from prō consule (someone acting) for the consul. See pro- ², consul

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 proconsul

proconsul

late 14c., "governor or military commander of an ancient Roman province," from Latin proconsul "governor of a province; military commander," from phrase pro consule "(acting) in place of a consul," from pro- "in place of" (see pro-) + ablative of consul. In modern use usually rhetorical, but it was a title of certain commissioners in the French Revolution, was used in English for "deputy consul," and was used again of U.S. administrators in Iraq during the occupation. Related: Proconsular.