ɪn lˈeɪt sˈɪkstiːnθsˈɛntʃɚɹi ˈɪŋɡlənd ðə wˈɜːd "kˈɑːnsɔːɹt" ˌɔn ɪts ˈoʊn wʌz nˈoːɹməli ɐplˈaɪd tə ɡɹˈuːps ʌv daɪvˈɜːs ˈɪnstɹəmənts kˈʌmɪŋ fɹʌm dˈɪfɹənt fˈæmɪliz, ænd ðə sˈɛns ʌvðə tˈɜːm "bɹˈoʊkən" ɪnðɪ ᵻlˈɪzɐbˌɛθən ˈiəɹɚ ɹᵻfˈɜːz pɹaɪmˈɛɹᵻli tə dᵻvˈɪʒən, ðə "bɹˈeɪkɪŋ" ʌv lˈɔŋ nˈoʊts ˌɪntʊ ʃˈɔːɹɾɚ wˌʌnz.
In late sixteenth-century England the word "consort" on its own was normally applied to groups of diverse instruments coming from different families, and the sense of the term "broken" in the Elizabethan era refers primarily to division, the "breaking" of long notes into shorter ones.