Word of the Day

: August 5, 2010

colloquy

noun KAH-luh-kwee

What It Means

1 : conversation, dialogue

2 : a high-level serious discussion : conference

colloquy in Context

The company's employees worried and speculated as the executive team remained closeted in an intense colloquy for the entire morning.

Did You Know?

"Colloquy" may make you think of "colloquial," and there is indeed a connection between the two words. As a matter of fact, "colloquy" is the parent word from which "colloquial" was coined in the mid-18th century. "Colloquy" itself, though now the less common of the two words, has been a part of the English language since the 15th century. It is a descendant of Latin "loqui," meaning "to speak." Other descendants of "loqui" in English include "eloquent," "loquacious," "ventriloquism," and "soliloquy," as well as "elocution" and "interlocutor."