(sim-POH-zee-uhm)

(n.) A meeting or conference to discuss one or more topics, especially one in which the participants make presentations to the other members

Although today we think of a "symposium" as a formal meeting or conference, it sounds as though such gatherings were much more fun in antiquity. That's because in Latin, "symposium" literally means "a drinking party." It derives from Greek "sumposion," which literally means "a drinking-with." (Thus "symposium" is a relative of such words as "potion" and "potable.")

"I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to the symposium that comes after all the regularly scheduled ones tonight."