Informal gatherings or meetings, especially those organized through online platforms for people with shared interests.
A modern compound word combining 'meet' (Old English 'metan') and 'up' (Old English 'upp'). The specific sense of organized social gatherings emerged with internet culture in the early 2000s, popularized by the website Meetup.com.
The word 'meetups' perfectly captures the digital age's approach to socializing—it sounds casual and accessible, unlike formal terms like 'gatherings' or 'assemblies.' What's interesting is how a simple compound word became so specifically associated with internet-organized social events that it's almost a brand name.
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