symposium
noun
Did you know?
When you hear the word symposium, you may—quite understandably—envision conferences full of intellectuals giving heady presentations on various arcana. But it was drinking, more than thinking, that drew people to the original symposia and gave us the word. Symposium (symposia or symposiums in plural form) comes from the Greek noun symposion, the word ancient Greeks used for a drinking party that follows a banquet. Symposion in turn comes from sympinein, a verb that combines pinein, meaning “to drink,” with the prefix syn-, meaning “together.” Originally, English speakers only used symposium to refer to such an ancient Greek party, but in the 18th century British gentlemen’s clubs started using the word for confabs in which conversation was fueled by drinking. By the end of the 18th century, symposium had gained the more sober sense we know today, referring to meetings in which the focus is more on imbibing ideas and less on imbibing, say, mead.
Examples of symposium in a Sentence
Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 14 Apr. 2025
In addition to recreating the ISS and shuttle, the students also programmed the drones to form an astronaut walking on the moon, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter and the symposium's logo.
—Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 9 Apr. 2025
The fourth iteration of the symposium exploring the complex relationship between the natural environment and design is focusing on mobility and infrastructures allowing it, seen as dynamic systems shaping movement of people, goods, data and power.
—Martino Carrera, WWD, 24 Mar. 2025
Xi held a closed-door symposium last month with some of the country’s most prominent business leaders, including Alibaba founder Jack Ma.
—Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for symposium
Cite this Entry
“Symposium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/symposium. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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symposium
noun
from earlier symposium "a social gathering at which there is a free exchange of ideas," from Latin symposium "a party with much drinking and conversation," derived from Greek sympinein "to drink together," from syn- "together with" and pinein "to drink" — related to synonymous
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