Consul
Magistrate or title in various republics and city-states / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the term "Consul" as a high-ranking government office-holder. For the term "Consul" in modern diplomacy, see Consul (representative). For "Consul" as a colonial or occupying administrator, see Administrative consul. For other uses of the word, see Consul (disambiguation).
Consul (abbrev. cos.; Latin plural consules) was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states through antiquity and the Middle Ages, in particular in the Republics of Genoa and Pisa, then revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic. The related adjective is consular, from the Latin consularis.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png)
Look up consul in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
This usage contrasts with modern terminology, where a consul is a type of diplomat.