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
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 11 June 2025
That included additional consulting services, like public outreach and housing symposiums.
—Amy Lavalley, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2025
Stanley and Kathy got to know Marilyn quite well and years later would attend and speak at symposiums commemorating her 1962 passing
Their home above the Sunset Strip was decorated with visual montages of their respective careers.
—Alan K. Rode, Variety, 27 May 2025
At the symposium, Nayak spotlighted what's needed within the next decade to establish an era of interoperable lunar infrastructure, which could spur a fully functioning lunar economy.
—Leonard David, Space.com, 17 May 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 8 Jul. 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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