Etymograph

English

consigliere

Consigliere comes from Italian consigliere ‘adviser’, from consiglio ‘advice", counsel’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *selh₁- ‘to take’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*selh₁-1‘to take’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*sulo1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsulō1‘to consult, seek counsel from, take counsel from’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsilium2‘council’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentconsiglio2‘advice", counsel’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentconsigliere2‘adviser’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1972consigliere2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin consilium
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English consigliere
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1972, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola: “Tom, I advised Michael. I never thought you were…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*selh₁-Wiktionary, Latin consilium‘to take’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*suloWiktionary, Latin consiliumreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsulōWiktionary, Latin consilium‘to consult, seek counsel from, take counsel from’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsiliumWiktionary, English consigliere‘council’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentconsiglioWiktionary, English consigliere‘advice", counsel’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentconsigliereWiktionary, English consigliere‘adviser’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1972consigliereWiktionary, English consigliere. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1972, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola: “Tom, I advised Michael. I never thought you were…”

The story

Entered the popular English lexicon through Mario Puzo's “Godfather” novels and the subsequent films made from them.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *selh₁- ‘to take’

sale, sell, consul, 2 more

through Latin cōnsulō ‘to consult, seek counsel from, take counsel from’

counselor, consult, 1 more

through Latin cōnsilium ‘council’

council, counsel, 1 more

Today it means

noun A counselor or advisor, especially to Mafia bosses.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “consigliere”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin consilium. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *selh₁- / consigliere

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