Etymologically
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symposium

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sɪmˈpəʊziəm/ (UK); /sɪmˈpoʊziəm/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin symposium (“drinking party”),[2][3][4][5][6] from Ancient Greek συμπόσιον (sumpósion, “drinking party”),[2][3][4][5][6] from sun- “together” and pósis “a drinking”,[2][3][4][6] related to pínein “to drink”.[5][6] It is related to potable and potion.[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An account of a convivial gathering (before 1586), especially as the title of one of Plato's dialogues.[3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

From 1711 the word meant the drinking party itself, a gathering with music and intellectual conversation after a dinner in ancient Greece.[4][5][7] The modern sense comes especially from the title of Plato's dialogue,[4] and a meeting for the discussion of some subject is recorded from 1784.[3][4][7] It also came to mean a collection of opinions or articles on a topic, as in a periodical (1784), or a book of essays by several authors (1946).[7]

Timeline

  • before 1586 – an account of a gathering, and Plato's dialogue.[3][7]
  • 1711 – a drinking party with conversation.[4][5][7]
  • 1784 – a meeting for discussion; a collection of opinions.[3][7]
  • 1946 – a book of essays by several authors.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A meeting or conference at which several speakers present and discuss a topic before an audience.
  2. A collection of writings by several contributors on a particular subject, as in a magazine.
  3. In ancient Greece, a convivial gathering for drinking, music and intellectual conversation.
  • symposiast
  • potable
  • potion
  • colloquium

Usage notes

Merriam-Webster gives both symposia and symposiums as plurals.[5]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press