Videoconference

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A digital platform enabling participants to engage visually and audibly in a meeting setting while located in different geographical regions
2. An online communication technique that allows individuals to connect via video and audio transmissions despite being in separate locations
3. A method of remote communication that facilitates audio-visual interaction among participants in different places for meetings or discussions

Etymology: "Video" comes from the Latin verb "videre," meaning "to see," so the word literally combines "I see" with "meeting together." The Latin root "conferre" gave English "confer," meaning to bring together or to consult, and "conference" developed from that sense of gathering to talk. The compound "video conference" joins the two, describing a conference held through screens rather than in one room. Linguistically the story is plain: the first element is "video," which was adopted into English in the 1930s as a term for television imagery, and the second is the long-established "conference." Because the term is a transparent compound, its pieces carry almost all of its meaning. Written as one closed word, it is simply an alternative spelling of the two-word form.

Synonyms: video call, video meeting, web conference