counselor
Pluralcounselors
UK spellingcounsellor
- 1A professional who helps people work through personal problems, often providing guidance and emotional support.
After the accident, he began meeting with a counselor to manage his anxiety.
Marriage counselors help couples communicate more openly with each other.
Note
The word names someone who gives counsel. It comes through Middle English conseillour from Latin consiliator, built on consilium, a word that meant plan, council, wisdom and advice all at once. That shared root is why counselor and councilor sound alike and are easily mixed up. A counselor gives advice; a councilor sits on a council. Phrases like marriage counselor or grief counselor belong to this everyday sense.
- 2A lawyer, especially an attorney who advises clients and represents them in court.
The counselor advised her client to accept the plea agreement.
Opposing counselors presented their closing arguments to the jury.
Similarlawyer, attorney, advocate
Note
The legal sense stays closest to the Latin root: the lawyer is named for advising a client rather than for arguing a case. Nothing in the word itself signals law, so context does all the work. In a courtroom or a law office, "her counselor" means her attorney, not a therapist.
- 3A staff member at a school who advises students, often specializing in an area such as careers, education, or health.
The counselor met with seniors to review their college applications.
Many counselors specialize in helping students cope with stress and health concerns.
Similaradviser
Note
Inside a school, the bare word is usually enough. Students say they are seeing the counselor, and the setting supplies the "school." A specialty goes in front as a modifier, as in a career counselor or a health counselor. The job leans toward advice and planning more than toward the emotional work of the personal-problems professional, though the two roles overlap.
- 4A person who supervises children, usually at a summer camp.
The counselor organized morning swim lessons for the younger campers.
Camp counselors lead hikes and supervise activities throughout the summer.
Similarsupervisor
Note
An American usage tied to summer camp, where the usual compound is camp counselor. The job is supervising and leading a group of children, not advising anyone. Readers outside the US may not recognize the bare word in this meaning. When writing for an international audience, use the full phrase camp counselor to make the meaning clear.
- 5A senior diplomat ranking just below an ambassador or minister.
The embassy's counselor handled trade negotiations on behalf of the ambassador.
Several counselors briefed the minister before the summit.
Note
Here the word is a rank in a hierarchy, not a description of what someone does. An embassy's counselor might run trade talks or a political section, and the title places that person directly beneath the head of mission. Read it the way you would read a military grade. Avoid writing councilor, the near-homophone used for an elected member of a council.
Practice
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Origin
This word came into Middle English (as conseillour, counseiler) through Anglo-Norman and Old French conseillier, from Latin consiliator, an agent noun from cōnsilior ("I take counsel"), itself from cōnsilium ("plan, council, wisdom, advice"). It displaced the native Old English rǣdġiefa, literally "advice giver."