conferee

Conferee is a noun meaning a person who attends or participates in a conference. It is used mainly in formal or official contexts and can be synonymous with participant, attendee, or delegate depending on the setting. In legislative practice, conferees are the members of a conference committee tasked with reconciling differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill. In diplomatic or academic contexts, a conferee is any participant in a conference.

Etymology and usage: The word is formed from conference plus the suffix -ee, which in this case marks a person associated with the conference. It ultimately derives from the Latin conferre, “to bring together,” with the noun conference adopted into English carrying the -ee suffix to denote a person connected with the activity. The term is relatively formal and more common in written or official texts; in everyday usage, speakers typically use “participant,” “attendee,” or “delegate.”

See also: conference, conference committee, delegate, attendee, participant.