Conviva

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who shares a meal with others, often indicating a sense of camaraderie or fellowship
2. someone engaged in the act of dining in the company of others, symbolizing social interaction
3. a participant in communal eating gatherings, representing a bond formed through shared culinary experiences

Etymology: Latin "convivium" meant "feast" or "banquet," and it was built from "con-" ("together") and "vivere" ("to live"), so a feast was, at root, a gathering of people living together. The "conviva" was the one who took part in that gathering: a fellow guest at the table. Roman writers used the word in this plain social sense, and the Latin verb "convivari" ("to feast together") grew from the same stem. English borrowed the word directly from Latin, and it has stayed a rare, learned term, mostly confined to scholarly and literary writing. Its close relatives tell the story more vividly than the noun does. "Convivial" came into English in the 1600s to describe a jolly, sociable mood at the table, and "conviviality" followed it. The noun "conviva" has never reached everyday speech, but it preserves the original idea that sharing bread is the core of fellowship.

Synonyms: guest, diner, attendee, participant, companion