What's the appropriate word for informal events in which friends meet to talk over a coffee or a beer?

What's the appropriate general word for all informal events in which a few (let's say, 3-10) friends meet at home or in a pub for a beer, dinner, coffee, card game etc., and have a conversation? I don't mean formal large reunions, but these everyday gatherings, and I need a single noun that fit all different kinds of meetings, that would fit in a text whose register is formal, even academic. Would "friends' gatherings" work? (or is it "friends gatherings" without an apostrophe? or maybe "friend gatherings")? Also, would "family gatherings" work to describe regular meetings with one's core or extended family over a dinner or over a coffee?

Solution 1:

I saw a reference to a "tertulia"-- a Spanish word--in a book by Gabriel Garcia Marques. It refers to a group that gets together to talk while eating and drinking--or at least that is my understanding. My monthly group has adopted it-- we prefer it as it has a more special quality than some alternatives.*

Solution 2:

I think the standard choices are

• get-together
• gathering
• meet-up (this is modern)

There are verbs to go with each of these:

• to get together [over coffee, over a beer / for snacks, etc.]
• to gather
• to meet up

I personally don't like gathering so well, because it sounds a little quasi-religious or pompous to me. But I think that's just me.

Solution 3:

"Social", used alone as a noun is defined as "A social gathering or party, especially of or as given by an organized group." Example: "She is baking a pie to take to the church social."

I personally prefer going to a "soiree" over a "social." A soiree is defined an evening party or gathering, typically in a private house, for conversation or music.

And then there's "salon," which has nothing to do with hair or nails, but describes a social event dating back to Revolutionary France, when people gathered to party and confabulate. Salons in the US were made popular in the Gilded Age, where people in the arts gathered to socialize and exchange ideas. Salon's were usually hosted at someone's home, but as time marched on, salons could be had at bars or cafes. Salons are not limited to the arts, and can include politics, science and other topics.