convention

Definitions

con- (together) + vent (come) + -ion (act/result) = "a coming-together." One root scene branches into three modern senses: the gathering itself (a comic-book convention), the customs a group has "come together" to agree on (social convention), and a formal pact states come together to sign (the Geneva Convention). All three are people converging on a shared point.

Why It Means This

The leap from "meeting" to "custom" puzzles many learners, but the root makes it natural: a convention is whatever people have come together on. When a society comes together over generations and silently agrees on how to greet, dress, or behave, that shared agreement is a convention too — no meeting room required, just a coming-together of minds.

Common Collocations

• 1.social convention社会惯例
• 2.by convention按照惯例
• 3.international convention国际公约
• 4.attend a convention参加大会

Example Sentences

• 1.

  Thousands of fans attended the annual comic convention.

• 2.

  By convention, the host pours the first glass of wine.

• 3.

  Both nations signed the convention on chemical weapons.