proper noun · masculinesecond declension
Consus
Consus m sg (genitive Consī)
Classical[ˈkõː.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkɔn.sus]
Meaning
- RomanmasculinesingularConsus
et nunc ara Conso illi in circo demersa est ad primas metas sub terra
even now there is an altar to that Consus buried in the circus, under the ground by the first turning-postc. 160 CE – c. 225 CE, Tertullianus, De spectaculis 5
Consus, i, m. perh. from condo,
I. a very ancient deity of Italy, a god of the earth and of agriculture, giver of fertility, presiding over counsels and secret plans: CONSVS. CONSILIO. MARS. DVELLO. LARES. COMITIO. POTENTES., old. inscr. in Tert. Spect. 5; cf. Serv. ad Verg. A. 8, 636; Ascon. Cic. Verr. 1, 10, 31; Mart. Cap. 1, § 54.—Hence Romulus consecrated to him the games instituted with the purpose of attracting the Sabine women, Liv. 1, 9, 6, where this deity is called Neptunus Equester; cf. also Serv. l. l. Aus. Idyl. 12 de deis. This festival, subsequently celebrated annually by the Romans, called Consŭālĭa, ium, n., fell on the 21st of August, and at this time the altar of the god, at the lower end of the Circus Maximus, was uncovered, though heaped with earth all the rest of the year, Ov. F. 3, 199 sq.; Varr. L. L. 6, § 20 Müll.; Liv. 1, 9, 6; Paul. ex Fest. p. 41, 15 Müll.; Tert. Spect. 5; Dict. of Antiq. s. v. Consualia.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
Cōnsus ī, m
perh. from condo, an ancient deity, god of secret plans, L., O.
Origins
Contentious. Frequently linked to condo (“store”); Miano (2015) deems this etymology "hazardous and questionable". In antiquity, Consus was linked by folk etymology to consero (“sow”), and to Consivius, an epithet of Ops (as Consivia), Jove, and Janus. A connection to consilium (“council”), espoused by some ancient authors, has found some support among modern scholars.