Adviser Explained

An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs categorically from that of a task-specific consultant. An adviser is typically part of the leadership, whereas consultants fulfill functional roles.[1]

The spellings adviser and advisor have both been in use since the 16th century.[2] Adviser has always been the more usual spelling, though advisor has gained frequency in recent years and is a common alternative, especially in North America.[3] [4]

Etymology

The use of adviser is of English origin, with "er" as a noun ending, and advisor of Latin origin.[5] The words are etymological twin cognates and are considered interchangeable.

Word usage

Usage of the two words is normally a matter of choice, but they should not be used together in the same document. The Associated Press prefers (AP Stylebook) the use of "adviser", but Virginia Tech (style guide) gives preference to "advisor", stating that it "is used more commonly in academe" and that "adviser is acceptable in releases going to organizations that follow AP style".[6] Purdue University Office of Marketing and Media's Editorial Style Guide gives preference to "advisor".[7] The European Commission uses "adviser(s)",[8] the UK has Special advisers, as well as the Scottish Government,[9] and the United Nations uses Special Advisers. The US government uses both: Council of Economic Advisers, Office of the Legal Adviser, Deputy National Security Advisor (deputy to the President's NSA), Legal "Advisor" (Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants), that was part of the team tasked to conduct Combatant Status Review Tribunals of captives detained in Guantanamo Bay, and laws Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs's Fulbright Program has "advisers".

Specific uses

Books

Use of "advisor" appeared in print in the United States in 1889, with The Tennessee Justice and Legal Advisor by William C. Kain and Horace N. Hawkins.[10] The Department of Justice of the United States, Issue 15, printed in 1927 by the Institute For Government Research, uses both spellings: "1. Political adviser and assistant to the President" and "Legal Advisor. Like all the other cabinet officers, the Attorney General is a political advisor of the President".[11]

Consultancy

Finances

Publications

Specific advisory companies

Specific advisory services

Media

Examples of the use of adviser and advisor in the media on a particular subject:

Other

Notable advisers

!Portrait!Name!Year!Origin!Notes
Chanakya375–283 BCEIndiaIndian polymath and a royal advisor of Mauryan Emperors Chandragupta and Bindusara who authored the ancient Indian political treatise, the Arthashastra
Birbal1528-1586Madhya Pradesh, IndiaAdvisor and main commander (Mukhya Senapati) of army in the court of the Mughal emperor, Akbar and one of the Akbar's Navratnas
Bairam Khan1501-1561Badakhshan, Central AsiaAt the court of the Mughal Emperors, Humayun and Akbar
Henry Kissinger1923-2023Weimar Republic, Germany
Yelu Chucai1190-1244Yanjing, Jin dynastyKhitan adviser to Genghis Khan and his son Ögedei

See also

Notes and References

  1. Definition agreed on by both professional advisors and consultants in business magazine along with functional workflow graphic."The Difference Between Consultants and Advisors"
  2. Oxford English Dictionary, s.vv. "adviser" and "advisor" (subscription required).
  3. [Google Ngram Viewer]
  4. Oxford Dictionaries, s.v. "adviser".
  5. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=adviser&searchmode=none Adviser versus advisor
  6. http://www.branding.unirel.vt.edu/custom-search.php?vt_search_type=cse&cx=006357594167496558312%3Aelddpyq9m2u&q=adviser&sa.x=0&sa.y=0&cof=FORID:11&ie=UTF-8&sa=Search Virginia Tech usage
  7. Web site: Editorial Style Guide . . 2016-10-15 . 2014-11-24 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160115064430/https://www.purdue.edu/brand/writing/style_guide.html . 2016-01-15.
  8. http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/about/who/sa_en.htm European Commission
  9. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/People/14944/Special-Advisers Scottish government
  10. https://books.google.com/books?id=hFIvHQAACAAJ&q=%22advisor%22 Google books; title
  11. https://books.google.com/books?id=81Rqx2UZD7wC&dq=%22advisor%22&pg=PA18 Google books; p. 18
  12. https://www.npr.org/2014/03/03/285334799/deputy-national-security-adviser-lays-out-u-s-plan-in-ukraine NPR.org
  13. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/wp/2014/04/29/white-house-email-reinforces-benghazi-talking-points/ Washington Post
  14. https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303738504575568083406103378 WSJ online
  15. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/03/24/briefing-deputy-national-security-advisor-strategic-communications-ben-r Office of the Press Secretary
  16. [Ben Rhodes (politician)|Wikipedia]
  17. http://blog.heritage.org/2014/05/01/cbs-news-quiet-benghazi/ The Heritage Foundation
  18. https://news.yahoo.com/rice-obama-disgusted-anti-semitic-leaflets-180248964.html Yahoo News
  19. http://news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2014/04/ben-rhodes-visit.shtml IU Bloomington Newsroom