1. A small assembly or gathering; esp., a secret assembly.

They are commanded to abstain from all conventicles of men whatsoever. Ayliffe.

2. An assembly for religious worship; esp., such an assembly held privately, as in times of persecution, by Nonconformists or Dissenters in England, or by Covenanters in Scotland; -- often used opprobriously, as if those assembled were heretics or schismatics.

The first Christians could never have had recourse to nocturnal or clandestine conventicles till driven to them by the violence of persecution. Hammond.

A sort of men who . . . attend its [the curch of England's] service in the morning, and go with their wives to a conventicle in the afternoon. Swift.

Conventicler

Con*ven"ti*cler (?), n. One who supports or frequents conventicles. Dryden.

Conventicling

Con*ven"ti*cling (?), a. Belonging or going to, or resembling, a conventicle. [Obs.]

Conventicling schools . . . set up and taught secretly by fanatics. South.

Convention

Con*ven"tion (?), n. [L. conventio: cf. F. convention. See Convene, v. i.]

1. The act of coming together; the state of being together; union; coalition.

The conventions or associations of several particles of matter into bodies of any certain denomination. Boyle.

2. General agreement or concurrence; arbitrary custom; usage; conventionality.

There are thousands now Such women, but convention beats them down. Tennyson.

3. A meeting or an assembly of persons, esp. of delegates or representatives, to accomplish some specific object, -- civil, social, political, or ecclesiastical.

He set himself to the making of good laws in a grand convention of his nobles. Sir R. Baker.

A convention of delegates from all the States, to meet in Philadelphia, for the sole and express purpose of reserving the federal system, and correcting its defects. W. Irving.

4. (Eng. Hist) An extraordinary assembly of the parkiament or estates of the realm, held without the king's writ, -- as the assembly which restored Charles II. to the throne, and that which declared the throne to be abdicated by James II.

Our gratitude is due . . . to the Long Parliament, to the Convention, and to William of Orange. Macaulay.

5. An agreement or contract less formal than, or preliminary to, a traety; an informal compact, as between commanders of armies in respect to suspension of hostilities, or between states; also, a formal agreement between governments or sovereign powers; as, a postal convetion between two governments.

This convention, I think from my soul, is nothing but a stipulation for national ignominy; a truce without a suspension of hostilities. Ld. Chatham.

The convention with the State of georgia has been ratified by their Legislature. T. Jefferson.

Conventional

Con*ven"tion*al (?), a. [L. conventionalis: cf. F. conventionnel.]

1. Formed by agreement or compact; stipulated.

Conventional services reserved by tenures upon grants, made out of the crown or knights' service. Sir M. Hale.

2. Growing out of, or depending on, custom or tacit agreement; sanctioned by general concurrence or usage; formal. Conventional decorum." Whewell.

The conventional language appropriated to monarchs. Motley.

The ordinary salutations, and other points of social behavior, are conventional. Latham.

3. (Fine Arts) (a) Based upon tradition, whether religious and historical or of artistic rules. (b) Abstracted; removed from close representation of nature by the deliberate selection of what is to be represented and what is to be rejected; as, a conventional flower; a conventional shell. Cf. Conventionalize, v. t.

Conventionalism

Con*ven"tion*al*ism (?), n.

1. That which is received or established by convention or arbitrary agreement; that which is in accordance with the fashion, tradition, or usage.

All the artifice and conventionalism of life. Hawthorne.

They gaze on all with dead, dim eyes, -- wrapped in conventionalisms, . . . simulating feelings according to a received standart. F. W. Robertson.

2. (Fine Arts) The principles or practice of conventionalizing. See Conventionalize, v. t.

Conventionalist

Con*ven"tion*al*ist, n.

1. One who adheres to a convention or treaty.

2. One who is governed by conventionalism.

Conventionality

Con*ven`tion*al"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Conventionalities (). The state of being conventional; adherence to social formalities or usages; that which is established by conventional use; one of the customary usages of social life.

Conventionalization

Con*ven`tion*al*i*za"tion (?), n. (Fine Arts) (a) The act of making conventional. (b) The state of being conventional.

Conventionalizw

Con*ven"tion*al*izw (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Conventionalized (?); p.pr. & vb.n. Conventionalizing.]

1. To make conventional; to bring under the influence of, or cause to conform to, conventional rules; to establish by usage.

2. (Fine Arts) (a) To represent by selecting the important features and those which are expressible in the medium employed, and omitting the others. (b) To represent according to an established principle, whether religious or traditional, or based upon certain artistic rules of supposed importance.

Conventionalize

Con*ven"tion*al*ize (?), v. i. (Fine Arts) To make designs in art, according to conventional principles. Cf. Conventionalize, v. t., 2.

Conventionalily

Con*ven"tion*ali*ly, adv. In a conventional manner.

Conventionary

Con*ven"tion*a*ry (?), a. Acting under contract; settled by express agreement; as, conventionary tenants. [Obs.] R. Carew.

Conventioner

Con*ven"tion*er (?), n. One who belongs to a convention or assembly.

Conventionist

Con*ven"tion*ist (?), n. One who enters into a convention, covenant, or contract.

Conventual

Con*ven"tu*al (?; 135), a. [LL. conventualis: cf. F. conventuel.] Of or pertaining to a convent; monastic. A conventual garb." Macaulay. Conventual church, a church attached or belonging to a convent or monastery. Wordsworth.

Conventual

Con*ven"tu*al, n. One who lives in a convent; a monk or num; a recluse. Addison.

Converge

Con*verge" (?), v. i. [imp. & p.p. Converged (?); p.pr. & vb.n. Converging (?).] [Pref. con- + L. vergere to turn, incline; cf. F. converger. See Verge, v. i.] To tend to one point; to incline and approach nearer together; as, lines converge.

The mountains converge into a single ridge. Jefferson.

Converge

Con*verge", v. t. To cause to tend to one point; to cause to incline and approach nearer together.

I converge its rays to a focus of dazzling brilliancy. Tyndall.

Convergence, Convergency

Con*ver"gence (?), Con*ver"gen*cy (?), n. [Cf. F. convergence.] The condition or quality of converging; tendency to one point.

The convergence or divergence of the rays falling on the pupil. Berkeley.

Convergent

Con*ver"gent (?), a. [Cf. F. convergent.] tending to one point of focus; tending to approach each other; converging.

As many rays of light, as conveniently can be let in, and made convergent. Boyle.

The vast dome of its cathedral . . . directing its convergent curves to heaven. Hallam.

Converging

Con*ver"ging (?), a. Tending to one point; approaching each other; convergent; as, converging lines. Whewell. Converging rays(Opt.), rays of light, which, proceeding from different points of an object, tend toward a single point. -- Converging series (Math.), a series in which if an indefinitely great number of terms be taken, their sum will become indefinitely near in value to a fixed quantity, which is called the sum of the series; -- opposed to a diverging series.

Conversable

Con*vers"a*ble (?), a. [Cf. F. conversable.] Qualified for conversation; disposed to converse; sociable; free in discourse.

While young, humane, conversable, and kind. Cowper.

Conversableness

Con*vers"a*ble*ness, n. The quality of being conversable; disposition to converse; sociability.

Conversably

Con*vers"a*bly, adv. In a conversable manner.

Conversance

Con"ver*sance (?), n. The state or quality of being conversant; habit of familiarity; familiar acquaintance; intimacy. [R.]

Conversancy

Con"ver*san*cy (?), n. Conversance [R.]

Conversant

Con"ver*sant (?), a. [L. conversans, p.pr. of conversari: cf. F. conversant.]

1. Having frequent or customary intercourse; familiary associated; intimately acquainted.

I have been conversant with the first persons of the age. Dryden.

2. Familiar or acquainted by use or study; well-informed; versed; -- generally used with with, sometimes with in.

Deeply conversant in the Platonic philosophy. Dryden.

he uses the different dialects as one who had been conversant with them all. Pope.

Conversant only with the ways of men. Cowper.

3. Concerned; occupied.

Education . . . is conversant about children. W. Wotton.

Conversant

Con*vers"ant (?), n. One who converses with another; a convenser. [R.]

Conversantly

Con"ver*sant*ly (?), adv. In a familiar manner.

Conversation

Con`ver*sa"tion (?), n. [OE. conversacio (in senses 1 & 2), OF. conversacion, F. conversation, fr. L. conversatio frequent abode in a place, intercourse, LL. also, manner of life.]

1. General course of conduct; behavior. [Archaic]

Let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel. Philip. i. 27.

2. Familiar intercourse; intimate fellowship or association; close acquaintance. Conversation with the best company." Dryden.

I set down, out of long experience in business and much conversation in books, what I thought pertinent to this business. Bacon.

3. Commerce; intercourse; traffic. [Obs.]

All traffic and mutual conversation. Hakluyt.

4. Colloqual discourse; oral interchange of sentiments and observations; informal dialogue.

The influence exercised by his [Johnson's] conversation was altogether without a parallel. Macaulay.

5. Sexual intercourse; as, criminal conversation. Syn. -- Intercourse; communion; commerce; familiarity; discourse; dialogue; colloque; talk; chat. -- Conversation, Talk. There is a looser sense of these words, in which they are synonymous; there is a stricter sense, in which they differ. Talk is usually broken, familiar, and versatile. Conversation is more continuous and sustained, and turns ordinarily upon topics or higher interest. Children talk to their parents or to their companions; men converse together in mixed assemblies. Dr. Johnson once remarked, of an evening spent in society, that there had been a great deal of talk, but no conversation.