Con"gress (?), n.; pl.
Congresses (#). [L. congressus, fr.
congredi, p. p. -gressus, to go or come together;
con- + grati to go or step, gradus step: cf.
F. congr?s. See Grade.] 1. A
meeting of individuals, whether friendly or hostile; an
encounter. [Obs.]
Here Pallas urges on, and Lausus there;
Their congress in the field great Jove withstands.
Dryden.
2. A sudden encounter; a collision; a
shock; -- said of things. [Obs.]
From these laws may be deduced the rules of the
congresses and reflections of two bodies.
Cheyne.
3. The coming together of a male and
female in sexual commerce; the act of coition.
Pennant.
4. A gathering or assembly; a
conference.
5. A formal assembly, as of princes,
deputies, representatives, envoys, or commissioners; esp., a
meeting of the representatives of several governments or
societies to consider and determine matters of common
interest.
The European powers strove to . . . accommodate
their differences at the congress of Vienna.
Alison.
6. The collective body of senators and
representatives of the people of a nation, esp. of a republic,
constituting the chief legislative body of the nation.
☞ In the Congress of the United States (which took the
place of the Federal Congress, March 4, 1789), the Senate
consists of two Senators from each State, chosen by the State
legislature for a term of six years, in such a way that the terms
of one third of the whole number expire every year; the House of
Representatives consists of members elected by the people of the
several Congressional districts, for a term of two years, the
term of all ending at the same time. The united body of Senators
and Representatives for any term of two years for which the whole
body of Representatives is chosen is called one Congress.
Thus the session which began in December, 1887, was the first (or
long) session, and that which began in December, 1888, was the
second (or short) session, of the Fiftieth Congress. When
an extra session is had before the date of the first regular
meeting of a Congress, that is called the first session, and the
following regular session is called the second session.
7. The lower house of the Spanish Cortes,
the members of which are elected for three years.
The Continental Congress, an assembly of
deputies from the thirteen British colonies in America, appointed
to deliberate in respect to their common interests. They first
met in 1774, and from time thereafter until near the close of the
Revolution. -- The Federal Congress,
the assembly of representatives of the original States of the
American Union, who met under the Articles of Confederation from
1781 till 1789. -- Congress boot or
gaiter, a high shoe or half-boot, coming
above the ankle, and having the sides made in part of some
elastic material which stretches to allow the boot to be drawn on
and off. [U.S.] -- Congress water, a
saline mineral water from the Congress spring at Saratoga, in the
State of New York.
Syn. -- Assembly; meeting; convention; convocation;
council; diet; conclave; parliament; legislature.