Convention

How to spell convention

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce convention

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does convention mean?

1. nounA large formal gathering of people who share a profession, interest, or political party.
2. nounA way of behaving or doing something that most people accept as the usual standard.

Convention in a sentence

• The medical convention drew thousands of delegates to the city.

• By convention, the host pays for the first round of drinks.

• She booked a hotel near the venue to attend the comic convention.

• The report follows the usual convention of placing the summary first.

Where does convention come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin noun conventio, which meant 'a coming together', 'an assembly', or 'an agreement'. It was built on the verb convenire, formed from con- meaning 'together' and venire meaning 'to come', so the literal sense was simply that people came together in one place. From the idea of a gathering grew the related idea of what such a gathering agrees upon, which is why the word also came to mean an accepted custom or a formal treaty. English borrowed it in the 1400s, partly through Old French and partly straight from Latin, first in the sense of a formal assembly. The same convenire root sits inside the everyday words 'convenient' (something that comes together well for you) and 'covenant', which is a useful reminder that the spelling keeps the ven that means 'come'.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• ven (from venire: to come)
• -tion (noun-forming suffix)