Consultation

How to spell consultation

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce consultation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does consultation mean?

1. nounA formal meeting or process in which advice, opinions, or expert guidance is sought or discussed.

Consultation in a sentence

• The doctor booked a consultation to review the test results.

• The council launched a public consultation on the new parking scheme.

Where does consultation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb consultare, meaning 'to take counsel repeatedly' or 'to deliberate', which was itself a frequentative form of consulere, 'to take counsel' or 'to seek advice'. The same consulere gave Rome the title 'consul', the senior magistrate who was, in effect, the chief adviser of the state. The noun consultatio described the act of conferring or seeking advice, and it passed into English through Old French during the late 1300s and 1400s. The modern medical and professional sense, a formal meeting to discuss a problem or seek expert opinion, grew naturally out of that core idea of taking counsel together. The doubled vowel pattern and the -ation ending trip writers up, but remembering the related word 'consult' keeps the single s and the t firmly in place.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• sult (from consulere: to take counsel)
• -ation (noun of action)