colloquy

noun

col·​lo·​quy ˈkä-lə-kwē 

plural colloquies

1

: conversation, dialogue

a colloquy between senators

2

: a high-level serious discussion : conference

a colloquy between the trial judge and defendant

Did you know?

Colloquy may make you think of colloquial, and there is indeed a connection between the two words. As a matter of fact, colloquy is the parent word from which colloquial was coined in the mid-18th century. Colloquy itself, though now the less common of the two words, has been a part of the English language since the 15th century. It is a descendant of Latin loquī, meaning "to speak." Other descendants of loquī in English include eloquent, loquacious, ventriloquism, and soliloquy, as well as elocution and interlocutor.

Synonyms

• conference
• council
• forum
• panel
• panel discussion
• parley
• round-robin
• roundtable
• seminar
• symposium

Examples of colloquy in a Sentence

attended a colloquy on economic globalization

the subject of the spirited colloquy was the disputed authorship of the plays attributed to Shakespeare

Recent Examples on the Web

There is nothing analytical about Jackiw and Denk’s rendition, which translates all those formal intricacies into an infectious colloquy of voices. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024

State of play: The concrete barriers guarding the steep switchbacks above Wasatch Mountain State Park now display a colloquy of pro- and anti-Trump graffiti. —Erin Alberty, Axios, 13 Aug. 2024

These artist combinations – or colloquies, as Viveros-Fauné calls them – are especially effective at Stelo Arts and Parallax Art Center. —Briana Miller | , oregonlive, 11 Sep. 2023

Charlie and Joanie’s colloquy in the thoroughfare is also a mutual reassurance that the other’s dream has value. —Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 22 Dec. 2021

And the superb Baryshnikov somehow turns his body to stone, ending the colloquy. —Joan Acocella, The New York Review of Books, 14 May 2020

While there is inevitably a performative dimension to the colloquy between these two figures who have spent so many years on the public stage, Obama and Springsteen are also both deeply introspective. —BostonGlobe.com, 25 Mar. 2021

Milius concentrates on conservative patriots, yet her colloquy of all those involved in creating or fighting the coup highlights the varied countenances, plus their camera-ready expressions, that reveal an unexpectedly broad, adversarial America. —Armond White, National Review, 9 Dec. 2020

Leach said during a news conference colloquy with this New York Times reporter, drawing some Mississippi State faithful to Twitter’s ramparts. —Alan Blinder, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Latin colloquium, from colloqui to converse, from com- + loqui to speak

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

colloquy

noun

col·​lo·​quy ˈkäl-ə-kwē 

plural colloquies

: conversation

especially : a formal conversation or conference

Legal Definition

colloquy

noun

col·​lo·​quy ˈkä-lə-kwē 

: a discussion during a hearing between the judge and the defendant usually to ascertain the defendant's understanding of his or her rights and of the court proceedings