I met a childhood friend after over 15 years. It was myself, my spouse (who had never met the friend), and this friend.
Would I use reunion for this situation, as it always makes me feel it's for a group of people, and LDOCE says:
1 a social meeting of people who have not met for a long time, especially people who were at school or college together
2 when people are brought together again after a period of being separated
reunion with
Joseph's eventual reunion with his brother
The example for the second definition seems to suit what I'm looking for, but I'm not sure yet.
Is it really odd to use the word for meeting only one person, or is it just my false assumption?
(From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English: http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/reunion)
Best Answer
There is nothing wrong with using the word reunion for as few as two people, although it is more commonly associated with groups. For instance, consider Paul Simon's song Mother and Child Reunion.
If you feel that the term makes it sound like a bigger event than it really was, try recasting it as "I reunited with an old friend" instead.