Console

[kuh n-sohl] /kənˈsoʊl/

verb (used with object), consoled, consoling.
1.
to alleviate or lessen the grief, sorrow, or disappointment of; give solace or comfort:
Only his children could console him when his wife died.
[kon-sohl] /ˈkɒn soʊl/
noun
1.
Also called game(s) console, gaming console, video-game console. a computer system specially made for playing video games by connecting it to a television or other display for video and sound.
2.
the control or monitoring unit of a computer, containing the keyboard or keys, switches, etc.
3.
a television, phonograph, or radio cabinet designed to stand on the floor rather than on a table or shelf.
4.
a desklike structure containing the keyboards, pedals, etc., by means of which an organ is played.
5.
a small cabinet standing on the floor and having doors.
6.
.
7.
the control unit of a mechanical, electrical, or electronic system:
the console that controls a theater’s lighting system.
8.
Architecture. an ornamental corbel or bracket, especially one high in relation to its projection.
9.
Automotive. a tray or container typically divided into compartments, mounted between bucket seats, and used for storing small items.
10.
Nautical. a unit on a vessel containing steering apparatus, systems monitoring equipment, etc.:
a bridge console, an engine-room console.
/kənˈsəʊl/
verb
1.
to serve as a source of comfort to (someone) in disappointment, loss, sadness, etc
/ˈkɒnsəʊl/
noun
1.
an ornamental bracket, esp one used to support a wall fixture, bust, etc
2.
the part of an organ comprising the manuals, pedals, stops, etc
3.
a unit on which the controls of an electronic system are mounted
4.
same as games console
5.
a cabinet for a television, gramophone, etc, designed to stand on the floor
6.
See console table
v.

1690s, from French consoler “to comfort, console,” from Latin consolari “offer solace, encourage, comfort, cheer,” from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + solari “to comfort” (see solace). Or perhaps a back-formation from consolation. The Latin word is glossed in Old English by frefran. Related: Consoled; consoling.
n.

1706, “a cabinet; an ornamental base structure,” from French console “a bracket” (16c.), of uncertain origin, possibly from Middle French consolateur, literally “one who consoles,” word used for carved human figures supporting cornices, shelves or rails in choir stalls. Another guess connects it to Latin consolidare. Sense evolved to “body of a musical organ” (1881), “radio cabinet” (1925), then “cabinet for a TV, stereo, etc.” (1944).

1. The operator’s station of a mainframe. In times past, this was a privileged location that conveyed godlike powers to anyone with fingers on its keys. Under Unix and other modern time-sharing operating systems, such privileges are guarded by passwords instead, and the console is just the tty the system was booted from. Some of the mystique remains, however, and it is traditional for sysadmins to post urgent messages to all users from the console (on Unix, /dev/console).
2. On microcomputer Unix boxes, the main screen and keyboard (as opposed to character-only terminals talking to a serial port). Typically only the console can do real graphics or run X. See also CTY.
[Jargon File]