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Definition of privy council - 2 dictionary results

privy council

–noun
1. a board or select body of personal advisers, as of a sovereign.
2. (initial capital letters) (in Great Britain) a body of persons who advise the sovereign in matters of state, the majority of members being selected by the prime minister.
3. (sometimes initial capital letters) any similar body, as one appointed to assist the governor of a British dominion.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME prive counseil privy counsel


privy councilor, noun
Priv·y Council   (prĭv'ē)   
n.  
  1. A council of the British sovereign that until the 17th century was the supreme legislative body, that now consists of cabinet ministers ex officio and others appointed for life, and that has no important function except through its Judicial Committee, which in certain cases acts as a supreme appellate court in the Commonwealth.
  2. privy council An advisory council to an executive.
privy councilor n.
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