Coven

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkʌv.ən/

Definitions

1. A collective of individuals, often associated with witchcraft, who come together for shared spiritual and magical purposes
2. An organized assembly of individuals, particularly involved in witchcraft, meeting for rituals and support
3. A group of people, typically witches, who unite for magical or spiritual ceremonies

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "coven" is that it is the same word as "convent," split into two forms over centuries. Both descend from Latin "conventum," the neuter past participle of "convenire," meaning "to come together," built from "cum" ("with") and "venire" ("to come"). The idea of coming together gave rise to a range of meanings, and a gathering of nuns was one of the most important of them. English took the word through Middle English "covent," which passed through Anglo-Norman and Old French, and it kept the sense of an assembly or company of people. Over time the form "convent" came to be reserved for religious communities of nuns or monks, while "coven" stayed closer to the older sense of a gathering. The two words are doublets, meaning they are separate English words that share one ancestor. The modern sense of a group of witches developed much later, as the word became attached to the idea of a gathering of witches. Its link to the older meaning of a meeting or company is what gives the term its flavour.

Synonyms: assembly, gathering