<B>consistory, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a court of clergymen to decide church matters, such as a senate of cardinals presided over by the pope in the Roman Catholic Church, a diocesan court in the Church of England presided over by the bishop, or a governing board in some Reformed churches corresponding to the session of the Presbyterian Church; church council. <DD><B> 2. </B>the meeting of a church council or court. <DD><B> 3. </B>the place where it meets. <DD><B> 4. </B>a council of 32nd-degree Freemasons. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Historical or Poetic.) a meeting of councilors, especially that of the Roman emperors or of the Olympian deities. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Obsolete.) a council chamber. </DL>
<A NAME="consociate">
<B>consociate, </B>adjective, noun, verb, <B>-ated,</B> <B>-ating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> associated together. <DD><I>noun </I> an associate; companion; partner. <DD><I>v.t., v.i. </I> to join in a consociation. </DL>
<A NAME="consociation">
<B>consociation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>intimate association of persons or things; fellowship. <DD><B> 2. </B>a confederation or union of churches, especially Congregational churches. </DL>
<A NAME="consociational">
<B>consociational, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with consociation. </DL>
<A NAME="consociationism">
<B>consociationism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the principle or practice of the consociation of churches. </DL>
<A NAME="consol">
<B>consol, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> singular of <B>consols.</B> </DL>
<B>consolation, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the act of consoling or the state of being consoled; comfort. <BR> <I>Ex. He met with cold consolation (Robert Southey).</I> (SYN) solace, cheer. <DD><B> 2. </B>a comforting person, thing, or event. <BR> <I>Ex. This is the consolation on which we rest in the darkness of the future (Emerson).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> between losers in an earlier round of a tournament; for a consolation prize. <BR> <I>Ex. a consolation game or match.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="consolationprize">
<B>consolation prize,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a prize given to a person or team that does not win but demonstrates worthiness in a contest, or that wins in matches among previously defeated contestants. <BR> <I>Ex. a dialectical consolation prize for virtue otherwise unrewarded (Sydney Morning Herald).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S.) a prize given to the person or team making the lowest score, as a consolation. </DL>
<A NAME="consolatory">
<B>consolatory, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> consoling; comforting. <BR> <I>Ex. a savage reaction against ... bombastic and consolatory falsehoods (Atlantic).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="console">
<B>console</B> (1), transitive verb, <B>-soled,</B> <B>-soling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to ease the grief or sorrow of; comfort. <BR> <I>Ex. The policeman consoled the lost child by speaking kindly to him and giving him some candy.</I> (SYN) soothe, cheer, solace. adj. <B>consolable.</B> noun <B>consoler.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="console">
<B>console</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the part of an organ containing the keyboard, stops, and pedals. <DD><B> 2. </B>a panel, usually of buttons, switches, and dials, used to control electrical or electronic equipment in a computer, automobile, missile, or other device. <DD><B> 3. </B>a radio, television, or phonograph cabinet made to stand on the floor. <DD><B> 4. </B>a vertical, or upright, piano larger than a spinet, standing 39 to 41 inches high. <BR> <I>Ex. Consoles, by and large, have actions that more closely approximate the feel of a grand. The console's longer strings are supposed to produce a better base, and its larger sounding board, of course, gives it tonal superiority (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>any cabinet used to house a machine, piece of equipment, or the like. <BR> <I>Ex. The ... Medical Gas Monitor is a complete, mobile console (Science).</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(Architecture.) a heavy, ornamental bracket, especially one more or less in the shape of a scroll, for supporting a cornice or bust. <DD><B> 7. </B><B>=console table.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="consoletable">
<B>console table,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a narrow table, usually placed against a wall or under a mirror. </DL>
<A NAME="consolette">
<B>consolette, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small console. <BR> <I>Ex. rich, full tone in an amazingly compact consolette (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="consolidate">
<B>consolidate, </B>verb, <B>-dated,</B> <B>-dating,</B> adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to combine into one; unite. <BR> <I>Ex. The small farms were bought by a seed company and consolidated for greater efficiency. Many country schools have been consolidated.</I> (SYN) join, merge, amalgamate. <DD><B> 2. </B>to make solid or firm; solidify. <BR> <I>Ex. In the seventeenth century Luther's literary language was further consolidated by professional grammarians (Simeon Potter).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to make secure; strengthen. <BR> <I>Ex. The Romans consolidated their conquest of Britain by building a wall to keep out the raiding Scots. The presidential candidate consolidated his reputation by winning several primary elections.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to unite; combine; merge. <BR> <I>Ex. The three banks consolidated and formed a single, large bank.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to become solid or firm. <DD><I>adj. </I> consolidated. </DL>
<B>Consolidated Fund,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the fund of the British government from which permanent expenditures are paid, such as interest on the national debt, royal annuities, and the salaries of judges, as distinguished from expenditures voted annually by Parliament. </DL>
<A NAME="consolidatedschool">
<B>consolidated school,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a school for pupils from several school districts. </DL>
<A NAME="consolidation">
<B>consolidation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of consolidating or condition of being consolidated, especially: <DD><B> a. </B>a making firm or strong; strengthening. <BR> <I>Ex. The consolidation of marble did not fall out at random (John Woodward).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a combining or unifying. <BR> <I>Ex. A consolidation of the family's resources made his trip possible.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a combination of two or more corporations in which a new corporation is formed and the original corporations are dissolved or dormant; business merger. <DD><B> 3. </B>a period of relatively small price moves in the stock market, usually coming immediately after or before a substantial advance in prices. </DL>
<A NAME="consolidator">
<B>consolidator, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person or thing that consolidates. </DL>
<A NAME="consoling">
<B>consoling, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that consoles; comforting. <BR> <I>Ex. a consoling thought.</I> adv. <B>consolingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="consols">
<B>consols, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> bonds of the government of Great Britain. </DL>
<A NAME="consomme">
<B>consomme, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a clear soup made by boiling meat in water. </DL>
<A NAME="consonance">
<B>consonance, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>agreement; accordance. <BR> <I>Ex. There was a consonance of opinion among the members of the jury.</I> (SYN) harmony, congruity, concord. <DD><B> 2. </B>harmony of sounds. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Music.) a combination of tones sounded together, as of a note and its fifth, that is agreeable to the ear. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Physics.) <B>=resonance.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="consonancy">
<B>consonancy, </B>noun. =consonance.</DL>
<A NAME="consonant">
<B>consonant, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>any letter in the alphabet that is not a vowel. All the letters that are not vowels (in English, <I>b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z</I>) are consonants. <DD><B> 2. </B>any speech sound represented by such a letter or a combination of letters. The two consonants of <I>ship</I> are spelled by the letters <I>sh</I> and <I>p.</I> A consonant is formed by completely or partially stopping the stream of breath with the tongue, teeth, or lips. (Abbr:) cons. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>in agreement; in accord; harmonious. <BR> <I>Ex. His action is consonant with his beliefs.</I> (SYN) congruous, accordant, consistent. <DD><B> 2. </B>harmonious in tone or sound. <BR> <I>Ex. Poe's love poems have many consonant lines such as, "The sweet Lenore hath gone before, with Hope that flew beside."</I> <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=consonantal.</B> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Physics.) <B>=resonant.</B> adv. <B>consonantly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="consonantal">
<B>consonantal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having to do with a consonant or its sound. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or like a consonant. </DL>
<A NAME="consonantism">
<B>consonantism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the system of consonants of a particular language. </DL>
<A NAME="consonantshift">
<B>consonant shift,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Linguistics.) the regular change in consonantal sounds that took place in the development of the Germanic languages, as set forth in Grimm's Law. </DL>
<A NAME="consordino">
<B>con sordino,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Italian, Music.) with the mute (used as a direction). </DL>
<A NAME="consort">
<B>consort</B> (1), noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a husband or wife. The wife of a reigning king is called a queen consort. The husband of a reigning queen is sometimes called a prince consort or king consort. (SYN) spouse. <DD><B> 2. </B>a ship accompanying another. <BR> <I>Ex. The crews of "Card" and consorts had eaten Christmas dinner in Casablanca before sailing (Atlantic).</I> (SYN) escort. <DD><B> 3. </B>an association; companion. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to keep company; associate. <BR> <I>Ex. He got a bad name consorting with a rough gang of men. Men consort in camp and town, But the poet dwells alone (Emerson).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to agree; accord. (SYN) harmonize. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to associate; link. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) to accompany; escort; attend. <BR> <I>Ex. Sweet health and fair desires consort your grace (Shakespeare).</I> </DL>
