Congress

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkɑŋɡɹəs/

Definitions

1. A formal assembly of representatives who meet to discuss and make laws or decisions for a nation or organization
2. A gathering of elected officials tasked with creating, amending, or approving laws and regulations governing a specific area or nation
3. An official meeting of representatives convened to deliberate and legislate on issues affecting governance or public policy

Etymology: The most striking thing about "congress" is that its core idea is simply walking together. Its Latin ancestor, "congressus," came from "congredior," meaning "to go or come together," built from "con-" (together) and "gradior" (to step or go). The same root that gives English "grade" and "gradual" sits underneath it, so a congress began as a meeting of people who had literally stepped toward one another. The Latin noun carried the sense of a meeting, encounter, or gathering, and English took that sense over. Among its neighbours, the word shares the "coming together" idea with "convent," "convention," and "conference," all formed from "con-" plus a verb of going or coming. Other languages reached the same notion independently: Russian "сход" (sxod) and Czech "sjezd" describe gatherings built on the same pattern of movement toward a common point. Over time the meaning narrowed from any gathering to a formal assembly with a defined role. Applied to a legislature, it names a body whose members come together to make laws, which is the sense the word carries today.

Synonyms: assembly, legislature, parliament

Antonyms: disbandment, scattering