Advisory

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Pronunciation: /ədˈvaɪzəɹi/

Definitions

1. A formal recommendation or warning issued by an authority to inform people about a specific situation or potential risk
2. A communication from a body or expert that provides recommendations, guidance, or alerts regarding a particular situation or potential danger
3. A notice or suggestion from an official source aimed at advising individuals about a certain circumstance or possible threat

Etymology: Advisory comes from "advise" plus the suffix "-ory," and the verb "advise" traces back through Old French "aviser" to Late Latin "advisare," a frequentative of Latin "advisare"... more precisely, the chain runs through Latin "visare," meaning "to look at closely," itself a frequentative of "videre," "to see." The base idea is therefore one of looking over a matter carefully before speaking about it, so that to advise was originally to see something in one's mind and then report it. Middle English took the verb "aviser," and the sense of "consider" and "inform" gradually settled into "give counsel." The English word "advisory" is simply the adjective built from that verb with the suffix "-ory," meaning "having the character of or serving to." An advisory body or notice is one whose function is to recommend rather than to command, which is why the word carries no authority to enforce.

Synonyms: consultative, informative, cautionary, recommendatory

Antonyms: mandatory, binding