conventicle

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a secret unauthorized meeting for religious worship
  2. noun a building for religious assembly (especially Nonconformists, e.g., Quakers)

Etymology

From Late Middle English conventicle, conventicule (“a gathering, meeting (especially a secret or unlawful one); (derogatory) a church”), from Latin conventiculum (“assembly; meeting (or the place involved); association”), from conventus (“assembled, convened”) + -culum (suffix forming noun diminutives), perfect passive participle of conveniō (“to assemble, convene, meet together”), from con- (“together, with”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“along, at, next to, with”)) + veniō (“to approach, come”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- (“to step”) + *-yéti (suffix forming intransitive, imperfective verbs)).

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