con·sul / ˈkänsəl/ • n. 1. an official appointed by a government to live in a foreign city and protect and promote the government's citizens and interests there.2. (in ancient Rome) one of the two annually elected chief magistrates who jointly ruled the republic. ∎  any of the three chief magistrates of the first French republic (1799–1804).DERIVATIVES: con·su·lar / ˈkäns(y)ələr/ adj.con·sul·ship / -ˌship/ n.

consul One of the two chief magistrates of ancient Rome. In some accounts, the office was established in 510 bc. Consuls were elected each year to administer civil and military matters. After 367 bc, one consul was a patrician, the other a plebeian, each having the power to veto the other's decisions.

consul in ancient Rome, one of the two annually elected chief magistrates who jointly ruled the republic; any of the three chief magistrates of the first French republic (1799–1804). The word derives ultimately from Latin consulere ‘take counsel’.

consul supreme magistrate in the ancient Roman republic XIV; applied to various magistrates or chief officials, spec. head of a merchant company resident in a foreign country XV; representative agent of a state in commercial relations with a foreign country XVI. — L., rel. to consultāre (see next).
So consulate XIV; see -ATE 1.