consort

[ noun kon-sawrt, verb kuhn-sawrt ]

noun

1. a husband or wife; spouse, especially of a reigning monarch. Compare prince consort, queen consort.
2. one vessel or ship accompanying another.
3. Music.
   1. a group of instrumentalists and singers who perform music, especially old music.
   2. a group of instruments of the same family, as viols, played in concert.
4. a companion, associate, or partner:

   a confidant and consort of heads of state.

5. accord or agreement.
6. Obsolete.
   1. company or association.
   2. harmony of sounds.

verb (used without object)

1. to associate; keep company:

   to consort with known criminals.

2. to agree or harmonize.

verb (used with object)

1. to associate, join, or unite.
2. Obsolete.
   1. to accompany; espouse.
   2. to sound in harmony.

consort

verb

1. intrusually foll bywith to keep company (with undesirable people); associate
2. intr to agree or harmonize
3. rare.
   tr to combine or unite

noun

1. esp formerly
   1. a small group of instruments, either of the same type, such as viols, (a whole consort ) or of different types (a broken consort )
   2. ( as modifier )

      consort music

2. the husband or wife of a reigning monarch
3. a partner or companion, esp a husband or wife
4. a ship that escorts another
5. obsolete.
   1. companionship or association
   2. agreement or accord

Derived Forms

• conˈsortable, adjective
• conˈsorter, noun

Other Words From

• con·sorta·ble adjective
• con·sorter noun
• con·sortion noun
• noncon·sorting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of consort¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin consort- (stem of consors ) “sharer,” originally, “sharing” (adjective); con-, sort

Word History and Origins

Origin of consort¹

C15: from Old French, from Latin consors sharer, partner, from sors lot, fate, portion

Example Sentences

That that’s a very important example and it exists in consort with what professional philanthropies are doing to be resourceful in other ways.

From Time

In some myths, he goes on to abduct Mokosh – the consort of Perun and the goddess of summer, thus suggesting the eternal struggle between life and death and winter and summer.

From Realm of History

The grandson of Queen Elizabeth is “home,” as some put it, to attend the funeral of Prince Philip, the longest-serving consort in British history, who died “peacefully” on Friday, at Windsor Castle, two month’s shy of his 100th birthday.

From Washington Post

As royal consort, Prince Philip had been at his wife’s side — actually two paces behind in public, as required by protocol — since she became the queen upon her father’s death in 1952.

From Washington Post

Philip’s uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten—the closest to a real father he had—would later claim credit for putting the future queen together with her consort.

From Time

It was designed, with help from an architect and builder, by her consort Prince Albert.

From The Daily Beast

Once in her stride, she turned her Moomin books into masterpieces of word in consort with image.

From The Daily Beast

Like Queen Rania, she has made education a priority of her work as royal consort.

From The Daily Beast

Jan continued to come and go as he pleased at FOB Delhi, free to carry weapons and to consort with his “tea boys.”

From The Daily Beast

The voice phenomenon produced by Lees was instantly recognisable as that of the late Consort.

From The Daily Beast

A consort was found for him in the royal family of France; and her beauty and grace gave him a languid pleasure.

From Project Gutenberg

Quarrel in her presence he could not, nor add one jot to the burden which he felt sure she must bear as the consort of such a man.

From Project Gutenberg

And presently I saw that our consort, the Dane, had slackened her speed, so that there was a mile of water between us astern.

From Project Gutenberg

Her establishment must also so far exceed that of a king or of a queen-consort, as being composed of ladies as well as gentlemen.

From Project Gutenberg

The Wasp, after her battle with the Avon, could not fight two more, so she sailed away and left them to attend to their consort.

From Project Gutenberg