conventicle

English

Etymology

From Late Middle English conventicle, conventicule (“a gathering, meeting (especially a secret or unlawful one); (derogatory) a church”), from Latin conventiculum (“assembly; meeting (or the place involved); association”), from conventus (“assembled, convened”) + -culum (“suffix forming diminutives of nouns”). Conventus is the perfect passive participle of conveniō (“to assemble, convene, meet together”), from con- (“suffix meaning ‘together, with’”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“along, at, next to, with”)) + veniō (“to approach, come”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- (“to step”) + *-yéti (“suffix forming intransitive, imperfective verbs”)).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kənˈvɛntɪk(ə)l/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /kənˈvɛn(t)ək(ə)l/
• Hyphenation: con‧ven‧ti‧cle

Noun

conventicle (plural conventicles)

1. A secret, unauthorized or illegal religious meeting.
   • 1581, D. Fulke [i.e., William Fulke], A Briefe Confutation, of a Popish Discourse: […], London: […] [Thomas Dawson] for George Byshop, →OCLC, folio 12, recto and verso:

     [I]f when Luther firſt began to teach new doctrine, the catholiks at that time had not vouchſafed to giue him the hering, but had auoided his prechings & preuy couenticles, ther had not bin now in the worlde, either Lutheran, Swinglian, Calueniſt, Puritan, Anabaptiſt, Trinetarie, Family of loue, Adamite, or the lyke: whereof now there are ſo many thouſands abroad, al ſpringing of that firſt ſecte, and troubling at this day the whole worlde, […]

   • 1647, Theodore de la Guard [pseudonym; Nathaniel Ward], The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America. […], London: […] J[ohn] D[ever] & R[obert] I[bbitson] for Stephen Bowtell, […], →OCLC, page 37:

     If publique Aſſemblies of Divines cannot agree upon a right vvay, private Conventicles of illeterate men, vvill ſoon finde a vvrong. Bivious demurres breed devious reſolutions. Paſſengers to heaven are in haſte, and vvill vvalk one vvay or other.

   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XX, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 168:

     In the meantime, Lord Avonleigh found a wonderful resource in being loyal; he attended county meetings, denounced the Puritans, discouraged conventicles, discountenanced long graces or long sermons, and was seized with a sudden veneration for the church as established by law, which led to fines and imprisonment on all absentees from worship as ordained by law.

2. The place where such a meeting is held.
3. A Quaker meetinghouse.

Translations

secret, unauthorized, or illegal religious meeting

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Danish: konventikel
• Finnish: konventikkeli
• French: conventicule (fr) m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Konventikel
• Greek: please add this translation if you can
• Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: konventikkel

• Polish: konwentykiel m
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: conventículo
• Swedish: konventikel (sv) c

Verb

conventicle (third-person singular simple present conventicles, present participle conventicling, simple past and past participle conventicled)

1. To hold a secret, unauthorized or illegal religious meeting.

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “conventicle”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Middle English

Etymology

From Old French [Term?] or Latin conventus (“assembled, convened”) + -culum (“suffix forming diminutives of nouns”). Conventus is the perfect passive participle of conveniō (“to assemble, convene, meet together”), from con- (“suffix meaning ‘together, with’”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“along, at, next to, with”)) + veniō (“to approach, come”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- (“to step”) + *-yéti (“suffix forming intransitive, imperfective verbs”)). Equivalent to covent +‎ -icle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔnˈvɛn.ti.kl(ə)/

Noun

conventicle (plural conventicles)

1. an assembly, a gathering, a meeting, especially one that is secret or unlawful
2. (derogatory) a church

Alternative forms

• conventicule

Derived terms

• English: conventicle