English Reference
noun

consul

n.
US /ˈkɑnsəɫ/ UK /kˈɒnsʌl/ con·sul UK spelling consul's, consul's

  1. 01 C1 Advanced Archaic

    one of the two most important leaders in the government of ancient Rome.

    one of the two annually elected chief magistrates of the Roman Republic who jointly ruled the state.

    Simple

    In ancient Rome, a consul served for only one year to prevent them from becoming too powerful.

    In context

    The authority of the Roman consul was symbolised by the fasces, representing their power to maintain order and execute the law during their term of office.


From Middle English consul, from Old English consul, from Latin cōnsul.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin cōnsul
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated