COUNCIL Definition & Meaning

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council

[ koun-suhl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

an assembly of persons summoned or convened for consultation, deliberation, or advice.
a body of persons specially designated or selected to act in an advisory, administrative, or legislative capacity:
the governor's council on housing.
(in certain British colonies or dependencies) an executive or legislative body assisting the governor.
an ecclesiastical assembly for deciding matters of doctrine or discipline.
New Testament. the Sanhedrin or other authoritative body.

council

/ ˈ�첹ʊ�Բ�ə�� /

noun

an assembly of people meeting for discussion, consultation, etc
an emergency council
a body of people elected or appointed to serve in an administrative, legislative, or advisory capacity
a student council
the council
sometimes capital the local governing authority of a town, county, etc
a meeting or the deliberation of a council
modifier of, relating to, provided for, or used by a local council
council offices
a council chamber
modifier provided by a local council, esp (of housing) at a subsidized rent
a council house
a council estate
an administrative or legislative assembly, esp the upper house of a state parliament in Australia
Christianity an assembly of bishops, theologians, and other representatives of several churches or dioceses, convened for regulating matters of doctrine or discipline

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Usage

See counsel

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Confusables Note

Council, counsel, and consul are not interchangeable. Council is a noun. Its most common sense is “an assembly of persons convened for deliberation or the like.” It is generally used with a singular verb. A member of such a group is a councilor. Counsel is both noun and verb. Its most common meaning as a noun is “advice given to another”: His counsel on domestic relations is sound. A person giving such advice is a counselor. In law, counsel means “legal adviser or advisers” and can be either singular or plural. As a verb, counsel means “to advise.” The noun consul refers to the representative of a government who guards the welfare of its citizens in a foreign country.

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

��ܲ�·��ǳܲ�c�� noun

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of council¹

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English co(u)nsile, from Anglo-French cuncil ( e ), Old French concile, from Late Latin concilium “synod, church council” ( Latin: “assembly”), probably equivalent to Latin con- con- + -��(��), combining form of �� “to summon, convoke” + -ium -ium; Middle English -s- by association with Anglo-French cunseil counsel

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of council¹

C12: from Old French concile, from Latin concilium assembly, from com- together + �� to call; influenced also by Latin consilium advice, counsel

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"Nothing! And I was like, I need to contact the council, I need to find an art gallery who can advise me."

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Similar activity-based initiatives can be found in a number of local areas where charities, councils and local men's groups have worked together to set up schemes.

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The union said 170 affected workers faced an average pay cut of £8,000, and that it was also concerned the council was preparing to downgrade the pay of other non-management roles in the service.

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"We urge anyone who is interested to reach out to your local council to find out more about making a difference to a child's life chances."

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On Wednesday night, state humanities councils across the country had begun receiving similar letters stating that their NEH funding had been terminated, one day after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency visited NEH headquarters.

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