noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Either of the two heads of government and state of the Roman Republic or the equivalent nominal post under the Roman and Byzantine Empires. historical
2. 2
   a diplomat appointed by a government to protect its commercial interests and help its citizens in a foreign country wordnet
3. 3
   Any of the three heads of government and state of France between 1799 and 1804. historical
4. 4
   A count or earl. obsolete
5. 5
   A councillor; A member of early modern city councils in southern France and Catalonia. historical, obsolete

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6. 6
   A councillor; An officer of the trading and merchant companies of early modern England. historical, obsolete
7. 7
   A councillor; An official in various early modern port and trading towns, elected by resident foreign merchants to settle disputes among themselves and to represent them to the local authorities. historical, obsolete
8. 8
   An official residing in major foreign towns to represent and protect the interests of the merchants and citizens of their country. broadly
9. 9
   A high government official, generally either a coruler himself or a counsellor directly under the ruler. obsolete

   "Both we will raigne as Conſuls of the earth, And mightie kings ſhall be our Senators."

Synonyms

All synonyms

ambassadorambassadressapostolic delegateattachebailiffbailiff

Example

More examples

"The Senate decreed that a new consul be chosen and the country be delivered from the enemies."

Etymology

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

Related phrases

consul generalconsul-generalfirst consulhonorary consulhonourary consulvice-consulbyzantine empirecity councilearly modernhead of stateheads of governmentroman empire

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.