kənˈsȯrsh(ē)əm, -ȯrd.ēəm noun
( plural consor·tia -rsh(ē)ə, -rd.ēə ; also consortiums -mz)
Etymology: Latin, fellowship, from consort-, consors + -ium
1. : an international business or banking agreement or combination (as for the financial assistance of another nation or for the control of a particular industry in a country or countries) — compare cartel , trust
2. : association , fellowship , club , society
speaking of distinguished consortia, a new one called the Renaissance Society of America is announced — New York Herald Tribune Book Review
3.
a. : marital association — used chiefly in a legal action for damages for injury to a spouse or for alienation of a spouse's affections
loss of consortium
b. : persistent intimate association of different kinds of organisms usually with close physical contact (as in the symbiosis of certain algae)