What does convive mean?
A convive is a person who shares a meal or festive occasion with others — a dining companion, a fellow guest at the table. The word derives from the Latin convivium, a feast or banquet, built on con- ('together') and vivere ('to live'), so a convive is literally someone with whom one lives or enjoys life in company. Though now comparatively rare in English, where it survives mainly in literary, historical, or translated prose, the term carries warmly sociable connotations: convives are not merely people seated nearby but participants in the shared pleasure of food, drink, and conversation. It remains a common, everyday word in French. Writers reach for convive when they wish to evoke conviviality with precision — the guest whose presence makes a dinner a true feast rather than merely a meal.
nounA person who shares a meal or festive gathering with another; a companion at the table.
- A person who shares a meal or banquet with others; a table companion or fellow guest.
- (Rare, archaic) A verb meaning to feast or celebrate together.
"At the long harvest supper, every convive raised a glass to the host's generosity."
"The memoir paints Dickens as a genial convive who enlivened every dinner party he attended."
"Around the crackling fire, the weary travellers became merry convives, sharing bread and stories alike."
Standard plural; commonly used when describing all the guests at a feast collectively.
"The convives lingered long after the last course had been cleared."
Before 'plus-one' existed, English had a far more elegant word for the friend at your table: your convive — a term English borrowed straight from the Latin for living together.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of convive
Convive entered English in the early modern period, borrowed from French convive, which itself comes from Latin convivium, meaning 'a feast' or 'living together', from com- ('with') and vivere ('to live'). Its English cousin convivial, from the related Latin convivialis, proved far more durable and is now the standard adjective for festively sociable occasions. In French, convive has remained in daily use for any dinner guest, while its English counterpart settled into literary and formal registers.
How convive is actually used
Convive is a literary and somewhat formal word, more likely to be met in older prose, translations of French literature, or elegant modern essays than in everyday conversation. It carries warm connotations of fellowship and shared pleasure at the table. It remains current in French (un convive), where it is an ordinary everyday word, which can surprise readers who encounter its rarer English counterpart.
Easily confused with convive
Convivial is an adjective describing a lively, festively sociable atmosphere or person, whereas convive is a noun denoting a person who actually shares a meal or celebration.