Cŏn'sŏrt1, n.
n. [Lat. consors, from con and sors, sortis, lot, fate, share.] 1. One who shares the lot of another; a companion; a partner; especially, a wife or husband. The brute Can not be human consort; they rejoice Each with their kind. Milton. He single chose to live, and shunned to wed, Well pleased to want a consort of his bed. Dryden.
- (Naut.) A ship that keeps company with another.
- An assembly or association of persons; a company; a combination. [Obs.]
In one consort there sat Cruel revenge and rancorous despite, Disloyal treason, and heart-burning hate. Spenser. Lord, place me in thy consort. Herbert. 4. An act or state of concurrence or conjunction; union. [Obs.] “By Heaven's consort.” T. Fuller. “Working in consort.” Hare. “Take it singly, and it carries an air of levity; but in consort with the rest, it has a meaning quite different.” Atterbury. 5. Harmony of sounds; concert, as of musical instruments. [Obs.] And the waters murmuring, With such consort as they keep, Entice the dewy-feathered sleep. Milton. Queen consort, the wife of a king, as distinguished from a queen regnant, who rules alone, and a queen dowager, the widow of a king.