NOUN (3)

1. a body serving in an administrative capacity;
- Example: "student council"

2. (Christianity) an assembly of theologians and bishops and other representatives of different churches or dioceses that is convened to regulate matters of discipline or doctrine;

3. a meeting of people for consultation;
- Example: "emergency council"

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Council \Coun"cil\ (koun"s[i^]l), n. [F. concile, fr. L.
   concilium; con- + calare to call, akin to Gr. ??? to call,
   and E. hale, v., haul. Cf. Conciliate. This word is often
   confounded with counsel, with which it has no connection.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. An assembly of men summoned or convened for consultation,
      deliberation, or advice; as, a council of physicians for
      consultation in a critical case.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A body of man elected or appointed to constitute an
      advisory or a legislative assembly; as, a governor's
      council; a city council.
      [1913 Webster]

            An old lord of the council rated me the other day.
                                                  --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Act of deliberating; deliberation; consultation.
      [1913 Webster]

            Satan . . . void of rest,
            His potentates to council called by night. --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

            O great in action and in council wise. --Pope.
      [1913 Webster]

   Aulic council. See under Aulic.

   Cabinet council. See under Cabinet.

   City council, the legislative branch of a city government,
      usually consisting of a board of aldermen and common
      council, but sometimes otherwise constituted.

   Common council. See under Common.

   Council board, Council table, the table round which a
      council holds consultation; also, the council itself in
      deliberation.

   Council chamber, the room or apartment in which a council
      meets.

   Council fire, the ceremonial fire kept burning while the
      Indians hold their councils. [U.S.] --Bartlett.

   Council of war, an assembly of officers of high rank,
      called to consult with the commander in chief in regard to
      measures or importance or nesessity.

   Ecumenical council (Eccl.), an assembly of prelates or
      divines convened from the whole body of the church to
      regulate matters of doctrine or discipline.

   Executive council, a body of men elected as advisers of the
      chief magistrate, whether of a State or the nation. [U.S.]


   Legislative council, the upper house of a legislature,
      usually called the senate.

   Privy council. See under Privy. [Eng.]

   Syn: Assembly; meeting; congress; diet; parliament;
        convention; convocation; synod.
        [1913 Webster]

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary:

Council
spoken of counsellors who sat in public trials with the governor
of a province (Acts 25:12).

  The Jewish councils were the Sanhedrim, or supreme council of
the nation, which had subordinate to it smaller tribunals (the
"judgment," perhaps, in Matt. 5:21, 22) in the cities of
Palestine (Matt. 10:17; Mark 13:9). In the time of Christ the
functions of the Sanhedrim were limited (John 16:2; 2 Cor.
11:24). In Ps. 68:27 the word "council" means simply a company
of persons. (R.V. marg., "company.")

  In ecclesiastical history the word is used to denote an
assembly of pastors or bishops for the discussion and regulation
of church affairs. The first of these councils was that of the
apostles and elders at Jerusalem, of which we have a detailed
account in Acts 15.

U.S. Gazetteer (1990):

Council, ID (city, FIPS 18820)
  Location: 44.72892 N, 116.43524 W
  Population (1990): 831 (392 housing units)
  Area: 1.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
  Zip code(s): 83612
Council, NC
  Zip code(s): 28434
Council, VA
  Zip code(s): 24260

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

151 Moby Thesaurus words for "council":
   Areopagus, Bund, Rochdale cooperative, advisory council, alliance,
   assemblage, assemblee, assembly, assignation, association, at home,
   audience, axis, ball, band, bargaining, bargaining session, bloc,
   board, board of directors, board of regents, board of trustees,
   body, brawl, cabinet, cadre, camarilla, caucus, coalition, college,
   colloquium, combination, combine, commission, committee,
   common market, conclave, concourse, confab, confabulation,
   confederacy, confederation, conference, confrontation,
   congregation, congress, consistory, consultation,
   consumer cooperative, conventicle, convention, convocation,
   cooperative, cooperative society, corps, council fire,
   council of state, council of war, credit union, curia,
   customs union, dance, date, diet, directorate, directors,
   directory, discussion, divan, economic community, eisteddfod,
   exchange of views, executive arm, executive committee,
   executive hierarchy, eyeball-to-eyeball encounter, federation,
   festivity, fete, forgathering, forum, free trade area, gang,
   gathering, get-together, governing board, governing body, group,
   grouping, high-level talk, housewarming, huddle, infrastructure,
   inquisition, interchange of views, interlocking directorate,
   interview, judicatory, judicature, judiciary, kitchen cabinet,
   league, levee, machine, management, meet, meeting, ministry, mob,
   negotiations, news conference, palaver, panel, parley, partnership,
   party, plenum, political machine, pourparler, powwow,
   press conference, privy council, prom, quorum, rally, reception,
   rendezvous, ring, seance, session, shadow cabinet, shindig, sit-in,
   sitting, society, soiree, steering committee, summit,
   summit conference, summitry, symposium, synod, the Inquisition,
   the administration, the brass, the executive, the people upstairs,
   top brass, tribunal, turnout, union