plenary

Plenary is an adjective with two closely related meanings. It can describe something that is complete in scope or full in degree, such as a plenary authority or a plenary power. It is also used to refer to a meeting or session of a deliberative body in which all members are present and have full authority to act, known as a plenary session.

In organizational and governmental contexts, a plenary session is the gathering where the entire body participates and makes decisions, as opposed to meetings of smaller committees that may operate with limited powers. Plenary sessions are common in legislatures, international organizations, and large conferences, and they typically address the most consequential or formal business of the group. The term originates from the Latin plenus, meaning full.

Beyond meetings, plenary is used to denote full or unrestricted authority, as in plenary powers granted to an agent or government. In some religious contexts, the term plenary appears in phrases such as plenary indulgence, which refers to the full remission of temporal punishment under specified conditions. The noun form can describe events or bodies that encompass the entire membership, such as a plenary council or a plenary session, emphasizing the participation and authority of the whole group.