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To give sanction to; to ratify; to confirm; to approve. Would have counseled, or even sanctioned, such perilous experiments. De Quincey.

er; hence, more advanced in dignity, rank, or office; superior; as, senior member; senior counsel.

To mock at; to deride. [Obs. or R.] Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor. Ps. xiv. 6.

. I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Acts xx. 26,27. Scarcity and want shall shun you. Shak.

- Silk gown, the distinctive robe of a barrister who has been appointed king's or queen's counsel; hence, the counsel himself. Such a one has precedence over mere barristers, who wear stuff gowns. [Eng.] -- Silk grass (Bot.), a kind of grass (Stipa comata) of the Western United States, which has very long silky awns. T…

nt grief; as, the smart of affliction. To stand 'twixt us and our deserved smart. Milton. Counsel mitigates the greatest smart. Spenser.

, distinguished from the general issue. Bouvier. -- Special pleader (Law), originally, a counsel who devoted himself to drawing special counts and pleas; in a wider sense, a lawyer who draws pleadings. -- Special pleading (Law), the allegation of special or new matter, as distingiushed from a direct denial of matter…

, and to stomach the affront. L'Estrange. The Parliament sit in that body . . . to be his counselors and dictators, though he stomach it. Milton.

application; to petition; to entreat; to plead. By adverse destiny constrained to sue For counsel and redress, he sues to you. Pope. Cæsar came to Rome to sue for the double honor of a triumph and the consulship. C. Middleton. The Indians were defeated and sued for peace. Jefferson.

ficiency. Shak. I am not so confident of my own sufficiency as not willingly to admit the counsel of others. Eikon Basilike.

Inclination; will; disposition; desire. [Obs.] They rather counseled you to your talent than to your profit. Chaucer.

e trade mean simply specialized knowledge, in a good or neutral sense. He comes to me for counsel, and I show him a trick. South. I know a trick worth two of that. Shak.

nd have compassion upon thee. Deut. xxx. 3. And David said, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. 2 Sam. xv. 31. Impatience turns an ague into a fever. Jer. Taylor.

Not searchable; inscrutable; hidden; mysterious. The counsels of God are to us unsearchable. Rogers. -- Un*search"a*ble*ness, n. -- Un*search"a*bly, adv.

reluctant; as, an unwilling servant. And drop at last, but in unwilling ears, This saving counsel, "Keep your piece nine years." Pope. -- Un*will"ing*ly, adv. -- Un*will"ing*ness, n.

de, doubt not of victory. Shak. Victory may be honorable to the arms, but shameful to the counsels, of a nation. Bolingbroke.

o me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please. Isa. lv. 11. I will make void the counsel of Judah. Jer. xix. 7.

ludicrous fellow; a humorist; a wit; a joker. We wink at wags when they offend. Dryden. A counselor never pleaded without a piece of pack thread in his hand, which he used to twist about a finger all the while he was speaking; the wags used to call it the thread of his discourse. Addison.

to live in sin. Rom. viii. 1. -- To walk after the Spirit (Script.), to be guided by the counsels and influences of the Spirit, and by the word of God. Rom. viii. 1. -- To walk by faith (Script.), to live in the firm belief of the gospel and its promises, and to rely on Christ for salvation. 2 Cor. v. 7. -- To walk…

[would]. Chaucer. Caleb said unto her, What will thou Judg. i. 14. They would none of my counsel. Prov. i. 30.