symposium

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
symposium /sɪmˈpəʊzɪəm/

▶noun (pl. symposia /-zɪə/ or symposiums)

• 1 a conference or meeting to discuss a particular academic or specialist subject.

  ■ a collection of related papers by a number of contributors.

• 2 a drinking party or convivial discussion, as held in ancient Greece after a banquet.

– origin C16: via L. from Gk sumposion, from sumpotēs ‘fellow drinker’, from sun- ‘together’ + potēs ‘drinker’.