SYMPOSIUM

Sym‐po″si‐um (?), n.; pl. Symposia (#). [[L., fr. Gr. συμπόσιον a drinking party, feast; σύν with + πόσισ a drinking. See Syn-, and cf. Potable.]] 1. 1. A drinking together; a merry feast. T. Warton.
2. 2. A collection of short essays by different authors on a common topic; — so called from the appellation given to the philosophical dialogue by the Greeks.