consort
To regularly spend time with someone, often as a friend.
Consort has two distinct meanings:
- To spend time with someone or associate with them regularly. If a teacher warns students not to consort with troublemakers, she's telling them to avoid hanging around people who might lead them into bad decisions. When you consort with someone, you keep their company and often share their activities. The word often carries a hint that the association might not be entirely wise or respectable, though not always.
- The husband or wife of a reigning king or queen. Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, was known as the prince consort. A queen consort is married to a king but doesn't rule in her own right, while a king consort is married to a queen. The consort supports the monarch but usually holds less official power. This usage shows up mostly in history books and stories about royalty, where the distinction between the ruling monarch and their spouse matters for understanding who actually makes the kingdom's decisions.