conference

Etymology

From Middle French conférence, from Medieval Latin cōnferentia, from Latin cōnferēns.

noun

1. The act of consulting together formally; serious conversation or discussion; interchange of views.
2. (politics) A multilateral diplomatic negotiation.
3. (sciences) A formal event where scientists present their research results in speeches, workshops, posters or by other means.
4. (business) An event organized by a for-profit or non-profit organization to discuss a pressing issue, such as a new product, market trend or government regulation, with a range of speakers.
5. (sports) A group of sports teams that play each other on a regular basis.
6. (Philippines, sports) A constituent tournament of a sports league in a given season.
7. (obsolete) The act of comparing two or more things together; comparison.
8. (Methodist Church) A stated meeting of preachers and others, invested with authority to take cognizance of ecclesiastical matters.
9. A voluntary association of Congregational churches of a district; the district in which such churches are.

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive, education) To assess (a student) by one-on-one conversation, rather than an examination.
   The students who were conferenced on paper 1 will get a written response to paper 2, and those who received a written response to paper 1 will be conferenced on paper 2. 2009, Jennifer Berne, The Writing-Rich High School Classroom