a small meeting house or chapel for a religious assembly, esp of Nonconformists or Dissenters
Derived forms
conventicler (conˈventicler)
noun
Word origin
C14: from Latin conventiculum a meeting, from conventus; see convent
conventicle in American English
(kənˈvɛntɪkəl)
noun
1.
a religious assembly held illegally and secretly by certain Protestant sects that disputed the authority of the Church of England in the 16th and 17th cent.
2.
the meeting place of such an assembly
Word origin
ME < OFr conventicule < L conventiculum, dim. of convent