symposium
noun
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It was drinking more than thinking that drew people to the original symposia and that gave us the word symposium. The ancient Greeks would often follow a banquet with a drinking party they called a symposion. That name came 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 gatherings in which intellectual conversation was fueled by drinking. By the end of the 18th century, symposium had gained the more sober sense we know today, describing meetings in which the focus is more on the exchange of ideas and less on imbibing.
Synonyms
Examples of symposium in a Sentence
Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
At the symposium, researchers shared a flurry of fascinating new findings revealed by these new methods that demonstrate their evolving understanding of the cerebellum.
—R Douglas Fields, WIRED, 31 Mar. 2024
Speakers at the symposium discussed data points tracking back to at least 2010, showing a fluctuation in homicide rates, but an overall increase in the last 13 years.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024
That system is still undergoing testing, Rear Adm. Fred Pyle, director of the Navy’s Surface Warfare Division, said at a January symposium, according to Breaking Defense.
—Brad Lendon, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024
The 2021 symposium was one of several ways Lindell amplified election-fraud falsehoods after Trump’s 2020 loss, The Post previously reported.
—Praveena Somasundaram, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2024
Three years in the making, the symposium was organized by Charlotte’s own bread-glitterati, Peter Reinhart — an international renowned bread expert, James Beard-award winning cookbook author and Johnson & Wales Chef-on-Assignment.
—Michael J. Solender, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
Well’s annual symposium in November, Kloots shared with Yvette Nicole Brown that Elvis has begun to ask more questions about his father, Nick Cordero's death.
—Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 15 Feb. 2024
Secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall, along with the Chiefs of the Air Force and Space Force unveiled their designs for optimizing the Department of the Air Force on February 12, 2024 at the Air and Space Forces Association’s annual warfighting symposium.
—Dave Deptula, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'symposium.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Symposium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/symposium. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
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
More from Merriam-Webster on symposium
Nglish: Translation of symposium for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of symposium for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about symposium
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