council

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈkaʊn.səl/ See IPA manual

Homophones

counsel /ˈkaʊn.səl/

Freq #2125

Meanings

1

noun
A group of people chosen to manage or govern something, such as a town.

The city council voted to build a new park.
2

noun
A meeting held to discuss something and make decisions.

The leaders held an emergency council to deal with the crisis.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms councils

Derived forms anticouncilcouncil-housedcouncilismcouncilistcouncillor councilmancouncilmatecouncilmembercouncilorcouncilpersoncouncilwomanintercouncil

Related forms conciliate counsel reconcile syndicate

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

privy council
a group of advisers who counsel a monarch or ruler

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English counseil, conseil, from late Old English cuncile, from Anglo-Norman cuncile and Old French concile, from Latin concilium. Doublet of concelho.

*kelh₁- Proto-Indo-European counseil Middle English cuncile Old English concile Old French concilium Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# council

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkaʊn.səl/
**Frequency rank:** 2125

## Meanings
1. A group of people chosen to manage or govern something, such as a town.
2. A meeting held to discuss something and make decisions.

## Examples
- The city council voted to build a new park.
- The leaders held an emergency council to deal with the crisis.

## Derived Forms
- anticouncil
- council-housed
- councilism
- councilist
- councillor
- councilman
- councilmate
- councilmember
- councilor
- councilperson
- councilwoman
- intercouncil

## Related Forms
- conciliate
- counsel
- reconcile
- syndicate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kelh₁-
- Root: counseil
- Root: cuncile
- Root: concile
- Root: concilium

## Etymology
From Middle English counseil, conseil, from late Old English cuncile, from Anglo-Norman cuncile and Old French concile, from Latin concilium. Doublet of concelho.

## AI Etymology
council comes from Middle English counseil, conseil, from late Old English cuncile, from Anglo-Norman cuncile and Old French concile, from Latin concilium. Doublet of concelho. The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁-, Middle English counseil, Old English cuncile, xno cuncile, Old French concile, and later related forms. Current senses include A group of people chosen to manage or govern something, such as a town and A meeting held to discuss something and make decisions. English relatives and later formations include anticouncil, council-housed, councilism, conciliate, counsel.

## Topics
- People & Society

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