consult
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: kŏn'sŭlt
enpr: kən-sŭlt'
rhymes: -ʌlt
ipa: /ˈkɒnsʌlt/
ipa: /kənˈsʌlt/
ipa: /ˈkɑnsʌlt/
note: Indic
ipa: /kŏn.salʈ/
note: Indic
ipa: /kɒn.salʈ/
enpr: kənsŭlt'
ipa: /kənˈsʌlt/
rhymes: -ʌlt
enpr: kŏn'sŭlt
enpr: kən-sŭlt'
rhymes: -ʌlt
ipa: /ˈkɒnsʌlt/
ipa: /kənˈsʌlt/
ipa: /ˈkɑnsʌlt/
note: Indic
ipa: /kŏn.salʈ/
note: Indic
ipa: /kɒn.salʈ/
Forms: form: consults
form: consulting
form: consulted
form: consulted
Etymology: From Middle French consulter, from Latin cōnsultō (“to deliberate, consult”), frequentative of cōnsulō (“to consult, deliberate, consider, reflect upon, ask advice”), from com- (“together”) + -sulō, from Proto-Indo-European *selh₁- (“to take, grab”).
Senses: examples: text: Let us consult upon to-morrow's business.
ref: c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
text: 1661 (written), published in 1681, Thomas Hobbes, A Dialogue between a Philosopher and a Student of the Common Laws of England
All the laws of England have been made by the kings of England, consulting with the nobility and commons.
text: SIR,—I have the honour to refer to your letter requesting me to desire Mr. Y. Ching-chong to come and consult with the Municipal Council, as Mr. Wood, the Chairman of that Body had informed you at a personal interview that they fully concurred in the desirability of co-operation with Mr. Ching-chong in improvements in the Honan road draining and lighting.
ref: 1889 January 11 [1888 December 21], Kung Taotai, “North Honan Road.”, in M. F. A. Fraser, transl., North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette, volume XLII, number 1119, Shanghai, →OCLC, page 37, column 1:
synonyms: see
glosses: To seek the opinion or advice of another; to take counsel; to deliberate together; to confer; to advise.
examples: text: Well, I have a trade of my own. I suppose I am the only one in the world. I’m a consulting detective, if you can understand what that is.
ref: 1887, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “A Study in Scarlet”, in Beeton’s Christmas Annual, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward, Lock & Co., part I (Being a reprint from the reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D., […]), chapter II (The Science of Deduction), page 13:
glosses: To advise or offer expertise.
glosses: To work as a consultant or contractor rather than as a full-time employee of a firm.
examples: text: If you have no library commission, consult a lawyer and get from him a careful statement of what can be done under present statutory regulations.
ref: 1899, John Cotton Dana, chapter 1, in A Library Primer:
synonyms: seek
glosses: To ask advice of; to seek the opinion of (a person)
examples: text: Which reminds me that I have never remembered from that hour to consult the dictionary upon a selvage.
ref: 1904, Guy Wetmore Carryl, chapter 3, in Far from the Maddening Girls:
text: Men forgot, or feared, to consult nature, to seek for new truths, to do what the great discoverers of other times had done; they were content to consult libraries.
ref: 1837, William Whewell, History of the Inductive Sciences:
coordinate_terms: look up
glosses: To refer to (something) for information.
examples: text: We are […] to consult the necessities of life, rather than matters of ornament and delight.
ref: 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC:
glosses: To have reference to, in judging or acting; to have regard to; to consider; as, to consult one's wishes.
examples: text: Many things were there consulted for the future, yet nothing was positively resolved.
ref: (Can we date this quote?), Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, (please specify |book=I to XVI), in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641, Oxford: The Theater:
glosses: To deliberate upon; to take for.
examples: text: Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Habakkuk 2:10:
glosses: To bring about by counsel or contrivance; to devise; to contrive.
Synonyms: refer
Derived terms: consultability
consultable
consultancy
consultative
consultee
consulter
consulting room
consultive
consultor
consultress
e-consulting
nonconsulted
nonconsulting
reconsult
teleconsult
unconsulted
unconsulting
Related terms: consultant
consultation