A convivial person, evening, or room is warm, friendly, and pleasantly cheerful — the feeling of a good dinner with people talking and laughing, not a wild party and not a stiff meeting. It is a rather grown-up, bookish word; you will meet it in stories and reviews more than in the playground. It comes from a Latin word for a feast, “living together” at the table, and you can still hear that: convivial suggests company, often food or drink, and easy good humour. Though actually, it does not have to involve alcohol. A convivial classroom can just mean people are at ease with one another. It is stronger and more social than merely “nice,” and lighter than “wild.” Teachers and writers like it because it names a mood that “friendly” alone does not quite catch.