consort

Noun

consort (countable and uncountable, plural consorts)

1. The spouse of a monarch.
   • Wise, just, moderate, admirably pure of life, the friend of science, of freedom, of peace and all peaceful arts, the Consort of the Queen passes from our troubled sphere to that serene one where justice and peace reign eternal.1862 January, [William Makepeace Thackeray], “Roundabout Papers.—No. XVIII. On Letts’s Diary.”, in The Cornhill Magazine, volume V, number 25, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], page 128
2. A husband, wife, companion or partner.
   • In his death was lost to his consort an affectionate and beloved husband; […]1814, Timothy Alden, “New Canaan, Con[necticut]”, in A Collection of American Epitaphs and Inscriptions with Occasional Notes, volume I, New York, N.Y.: J. Seymour, […], →OCLC, page 35
   • In the deep and retired channels of Tierra del Fuego, the snow-white gander, invariably accompanied by his darker consort, and standing close by each other on some distant rocky point, is a common feature in the landscape.1839, Charles Darwin, chapter XII, in Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty’s Ships Adventure and Beagle, between the Years 1826 and 1836, […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […]...

   Synonyms:

   spouse

3. (euphemistic, humorous, sometimes) An informal, usually well-publicized sexual companion of a monarch, aristocrat, celebrity, etc.
   • Pygmalion loathing their laſcivious Life, / Abhorr’d all Womankind, but moſt a Wife: / So ſingle choſe to live, and ſhunn’d to wed, / Well pleas’d to want a Conſort of his Bed.1717, John Dryden, “Book X. [The Story of Pygmalion, and the Statue.]”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 343
4. A ship accompanying another.
5. (uncountable) Association or partnership.
   • That which gives diſtaſt to the Ear in it is a German by-word: and ſuch kind of things Lʳ. according to the humor of thoſe times, purſues with ſome fondneſs: take it ſingly, and it carries an air of levity, I confeſs; but, in conſort with the reſt, you ſee, has a meaning quite different from what...1687, Francis Atterbury, An Answer to Some Considerations on the Spirit of Martin Luther and the Original of the Reformation; […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [Sheldonian] Theater, →OCLC, page 22

   Synonyms:

   association, partnership

6. A group or company, especially of musicians playing the same type of instrument.
   • On thother ſide in one conſort there ſate, / Cruell Reuenge, and rancorous Deſpight, / Diſloyall Treaſon, and hart-burning Hate, […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 22, page 277
   • Lord, place me in thy consort.1633, George Herbert, Employment

   Synonyms:

   band, group

7. (obsolete) Harmony of sounds; concert, as of musical instruments.
   • Sith then, it ſeemeth each thing to his powre / Doth vs inuite to make a ſad conſort; / Come let vs ioyne our mournfull ſong with theirs.1595, Ed. Spencer [i.e., Edmund Spenser], “Astrophel. A Pastoral Elegie vpon the Death of the Most Noble and Valorous Knight, Sir Philip Sidney.”, in Colin Clouts Come Home Againe, London: […]...
   • O may we ſoon again renew that Song, / And keep in tune with Heav’n, till God ere long / To his celeſtial conſort us unite, / To live with him, and ſing in endles morn of light.1646 (indicated as 1645), John Milton, “At a Solemn Musick”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], →OCLC, page 23

Adjective

consort (not comparable)

1. (postpositional) of a title, by virtue of one's (living) spouse; often contrasted with regnant and dowager
   • Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother took on nearly as many duties as queen dowager, after her husband's death, as she had had when she was queen consort during his reign.

Verb

UK/kənˈsɔːt/US/kənˈsɔɹt/

consort (third-person singular simple present consorts, present participle consorting, simple past and past participle consorted)

1. (intransitive) To associate or keep company (with).
   • If there bee any lasie fellow, any that cannot away with worke, any that would wallow in pleasures, hee is hastie to be priested. And when hee is made one, and has gotten a benefice, he consorts with his neighbour priests, who are altogether given to pleasures; and then both hee, and they, live...1610, Alexander Cooke, Pope Joane, in William Oldys, editor, The Harleian Miscellany: or, A Collection of Scarce, Curious, and Entertaining Pamphlets and Tracts, as well in Manuscript as in Print...
   • Which of the Grecian Chiefs conſorts with Thee?1717, John Dryden, “Book XIII. [The Speeches of Ajax and Ulysses.]”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 447

   Synonyms:

   hang out, associate

2. (intransitive) To be in agreement.

   Synonyms:

   agree, concur

Proper noun capitalized: Consort

Consort

1. A village in Alberta, Canada.