Consult

How to spell consult

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce consult

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does consult mean?

1. verbTo seek information or advice from a person, book, or source before making a decision.

Consult in a sentence

• You should consult a solicitor before signing the contract.

• Remember to consult the timetable before leaving for the station.

Where does consult come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word arrived in English in the early 1500s from the Latin verb consultare, which meant 'to take counsel, to deliberate, to ask advice'. That verb was a frequentative form of consulere, meaning 'to take counsel' or 'to consult', and the same consulere gave Rome its title 'consul' for its highest elected officials, the people who, in theory, were always being consulted. English took the word in by way of French consulter. Although the deeper roots are debated, consulere is often linked to the idea of gathering people together to deliberate, which fits the modern sense of seeking someone's opinion or information. For spellers the trap is purely in the unstressed first syllable: it is spelled con-, not the sound 'cun', and the ending is a plain -sult with a single t.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• sult (from salire: to leap, via consulere: to take counsel)