Reunions

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A social or family gathering to reconnect with others ; a coming together of people who were previously apart for a shared purpose
2. An event where relatives or friends meet up after a long time apart ; a meeting arranged to bring separated individuals back together
3. A festive occasion for groups to celebrate being together again ; a formal or informal gathering of persons separated by distance or time

Etymology: The plural "reunions" is simply the plural of "reunion," so the story belongs to the singular. "Reunion" came into English from Middle French "reunion," the same word that survives in modern French as "réunion," and it is built from the prefix "re-," meaning "again," and "union," meaning joining together. The sense is literal: a reunion is a joining back together of things or people that had been apart. Its close cousin is "Réunion," the name of the island in the Indian Ocean, which shares the same French source. The two words are doublets, meaning they descend from one origin but reached English along different routes and took on separate jobs, one as a common noun for a gathering and the other as a place name. The festive, party-like sense that dominates today grew out of the broader idea of people coming back together after time apart, so a family gathering or class get-together is still doing exactly what the prefix promises: rejoining what was separated.

Synonyms: gatherings, meetings, assemblies, reunifications, reconciliations