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Origin and history of symposium

symposium(n.)

"convivial meeting for drinking, conversation, and intellectual stimulation," 1711, from Latin symposium "drinking party, symposium," from Greek symposion "drinking party, convivial gathering of the educated" (related to sympotēs "drinking companion"), from assimilated form of syn- "together" (see syn-) + posis "a drinking," from a stem of Aeolic ponen "to drink" (from PIE root *po(i)- "to drink")

The symposium usually followed a dinner, for the Greeks did not drink at meals. Its enjoyment was heightened by intellectual or agreeable conversation, by the introduction of music or dancers, and by other amusements. [Century Dictionary]

Reflecting the Greek fondness for mixing wine and intellectual discussion, the modern sense is especially from the word being used as a title for one of Plato's dialogues.

Earlier in English as "account of a gathering or party" (1580s, the title of Plato's work). The sense of "a meeting on some subject" is from 1784. The Greek plural is symposia, an attendee is a symposiast, and the leader of one is a symposiarch (c. 1600 in English). Related: Symposiac (adj.); symposial; sympotical.

also from 1711

Entries linking to symposium

*po(i)-

*pō(i)-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to drink."

It might form all or part of: beer; bever; beverage; bib; bibitory; bibulous; hibachi; imbibe; imbrue; pinocytosis; pirogi; poison; potable; potation; potion; symposium.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit pati "drinks," panam "beverage;" Greek pinein "to drink," poton "that which one drinks," potos "drinking bout;" Latin potare "to drink," potio "a potion, a drinking," also "poisonous draught, magic potion;" Old Church Slavonic piti "to drink," pivo "beverage."

syn-

word-forming element of Greek origin (corresponding to Latin con-) meaning "together with, jointly; alike; at the same time," also sometimes completive or intensive, from Greek syn (prep.) "with, together with, along with, in the company of," from PIE *ksun- "with" (source also of Russian so- "with, together," from Old Russian su(n)-).

The Greek prefix was assimilated to -l-, reduced to sy- before -s- and -z-, and altered to sym- before -b-, -m- and -p-. Very productive from c. 1860 in forming words for modern sciences. Since 1970s also with a sense of "synthetic."

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