Counsel: Advice Given, and the Lawyer Who Gives It
Counsel means advice, and also a barrister or legal adviser. As a verb it means to advise, and in modern use especially to give professional therapeutic support.
Counsel is advice offered by someone qualified to give it. The word carries weight that *advice* does not: you can give a friend advice, but counsel implies standing — a lawyer, an elder, a trained listener.
- Advice (noun). *He sought counsel before acting.*
- A lawyer. *Counsel for the defence.*
- To advise (verb). *She counselled patience.*
- To give therapeutic support. *He counsels bereaved families.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | counsel | Wise counsel. |
| Verb | counsel | Counsel against it. |
| Person | counsellor | A grief counsellor. |
| US spelling | counselor | A school counselor. |
| Noun | counselling | Bereavement counselling. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Counsel for the prosecution called the first witness.Counsel is used without an article in court.
- He kept his own counsel.Said nothing about his intentions.
- The doctor counselled against surgery.Counsel against — advised not to.
Counsel in law
- Counsel — used as a mass noun for barristers in a case, with no article
- Queen's or King's Counsel — a senior barrister, abbreviated KC or QC
- General counsel — the head lawyer of a company
- Leading counsel and junior counsel — the senior and supporting barristers
- The plural of counsel in this sense is also counsel, never counsels
From Old French *conseil*, from Latin *consilium*, deliberation or advice, from *consulere*, to consult. The legal sense arrived in the fourteenth century and has kept its odd grammar ever since.
Counsel or advice?
Advice is the everyday word. Counsel is formal and implies expertise or authority.
What does keep your own counsel mean?
Keep your plans and opinions to yourself rather than sharing them.