Conventus

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A gathering or assembly, often for a formal purpose
2. an agreement or union between parties for a shared goal or activity
3. a system of conventions or practices within a particular context or field

Etymology: In Rome, the verb "convenire" meant both "to come together" and "to agree," and the noun "conventus" named the act of coming together: a meeting, gathering, or assembly. Roman administration gave the noun a concrete job. A conventus was a district within a province to which a governor travelled to hold court, so the term described a judicial circuit as much as a crowd. The sense of agreement comes from that same verb, since people who gathered were often people who settled terms. The Latin noun also passed into the languages of medieval Europe as a term for a religious community. Through Old French "covent," it became English "convent," so a word once used for a court circuit ended up naming a house of monks or nuns.

Synonyms: assembly, meeting, convention