“
Conference
.
Comparison of two things, to see how they match and how they differ, ”wrote Féraud in the spelling he advocates, in his Dictionaire [with only one n…] critique of the French language, in 1787.
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What is the origin of the word "conference"?
Borrowed from medieval Latin conferentia (confrontation, reunion), the word itself comes more distantly from conferre (to bring together), (to share words), (to compare).
In fact, the conference involves a discussion, an exchange.
"He had major conferences with the king", wrote Madame de Sévigné in a letter of 1693.
The conference also sometimes provokes a balance of power.
As early as 1680, in his Dictionnaire françois, Richelet remarked, for example, that the term could qualify a “dispute between learned people on some thorny subject”.
The medieval tradition of the disputatio is thus taken up with the word conference, a perfect way to measure one's knowledge and oratorical talents.
Read also: But where does the word "vote" come from?
What did “conference” mean?
However, the conference
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