ðˌoʊ hɪstˈɔːɹɪkli ðə tˈɜːm ˈoʊnli kˈeɪm ˌɪntʊ jˈuːs ɪnðə lˈeɪt sˈɛvəntˌiːnθ sˈɛntʃɚɹi ænd wɪð ɹˈɛfɹəns ˈoʊnli tʊ ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ mjˈuːzɪk, sˌʌm mˈoːɹ ɹˈiːsənt ɹˈaɪɾɚz hæv ɐplˈaɪd ðə tˈɜːm ɹˌɛtɹoʊspˈɛktɪvli tə mjˈuːzɪk ʌv ˈɜːlɪɚ pˈiəɹɪədz ænd ʌv dˈɪfɹənt nˌæʃənˈælᵻɾiz, ænd—θɹuː ɐ kənfˈaʊndɪŋ ʌvðə tˈɜːmz "bɹˈoʊkən mjˈuːzɪk" wɪð "bɹˈoʊkən kˈɑːnsɔːɹt"—mˈoːɹ spəsˈɪfɪkli tʊ ɐ sˈɪkspˈɑːɹt ˌɪnstɹəməntˈeɪʃən pˈɑːpjʊlɚɹ ɪn ˈɪŋɡlənd fɹʌmðə lˈeɪtsˈɪkstiːnθ ænd ˈɜːli sˈɛvəntˌiːnθ sˈɛntʃɚɹiz, kəntˌɛmpoːɹˈeɪniəsli ɹᵻfˈɜːd tʊ æz æn "ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ kˈɑːnsɔːɹt".
Though historically the term only came into use in the late seventeenth century and with reference only to English music, some more recent writers have applied the term retrospectively to music of earlier periods and of different nationalities, and—through a confounding of the terms "broken music" with "broken consort"—more specifically to a six-part instrumentation popular in England from the late-sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, contemporaneously referred to as an "English consort".