convivium
n.— «Miami and Tallahassee have chapters, which the Slow Food folk refer to as conviviums. I guess it is slower and more impressive to say than “chapter.” And the plural “convivia” clearly has more cachet than “chapters.”» —“Central Florida sets a great table: Pull up a chair and dig in” by Heather McPherson Orlando Sentinel (Florida) Dec. 27, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Mona from Riverview, Florida, grew up understanding that the word schmooze, which comes from Yiddish, meant simply “to mingle and chat” at parties, but when she fondly referred to her friend as a schmoozer, the friend was insulted, assuming that a...
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