conclave

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The Word of the Day for April 11 is: 

conclave   \KAHN-klayv\   noun
    *1 : a private meeting or secret assembly; especially : a 
meeting of Roman Catholic cardinals secluded continuously while 
choosing a pope
     2 : a gathering of a group or association

Example sentence:
     "The shadowy world of Ministers' meetings and security 
service conclaves unrecorded by a Palm Pilot scribble, let alone 
a formal minute, was never explored." (Mary Riddell, _The 
Observer_, February 2004)

Did you know?
     Ever wonder what happens behind locked doors? The etymology 
of "conclave" begs this question, since it is from a Latin word 
meaning "room that can be locked up" -- a meaning of "conclave" 
that is now obsolete. Today, "conclave" refers not to the locked 
rooms but to the private meetings and secret assemblies that 
occur within them. "Conclave" is especially likely to refer to 
closed meetings of an ecclesiastical character, but, as our 
example sentence shows, it's no secret that the word can refer 
to other types of private or secret meetings as well. The 
meaning of "conclave" has also expanded to include gatherings 
that are not necessarily secret or private but simply involve 
people with shared interests (for example, a fraternal society 
or political group). 

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.