Convergence

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kənˈvɜː(ɹ)d͡ʒəns/

Definitions

1. The process or state in which different things come together or move toward the same point, purpose, or conclusion
2. The act or condition of multiple entities uniting or moving towards a shared point, aim, or resolution
3. A situation where various elements or ideas join together or progress towards a common focus, goal, or understanding

Etymology: "Convergence" is a plain formation: the verb "converge" plus the suffix "-ence", which turns an action or state into a noun. The verb is itself borrowed from the Latin "convergere", built from "con-", meaning "together", and "vergere", meaning "to incline or bend toward". Its root sense is literal, two lines or paths bending toward one point, and the noun keeps that picture of separate things moving until they meet. The noun follows the Latin "convergentia", which gave English a learned route to the same idea. Because the word was modelled on Latin, it reached English as a formal term rather than a everyday one, and its earliest uses sit in mathematics and geometry, where lines that approach a single point are said to converge.

Synonyms: meeting, intersection, union, confluence, coalescence

Antonyms: divergence, separation, division, disconnection, dispersal