You searched for: “forum
forum
1. A medium in which the public may debate an issue or express opinions; such as, in magazines, in newspapers, or on the radio and the TV.
2. A public meeting or assembly to openly discuss matters of general interest.
3. An internet discussion group for participants with common interests.
4. A law court or tribunal.
5. In ancient Rome, a public square or marketplace in a city where business was conducted and the law courts were situated; especially, the market place in Rome.
6. Etymology: a public place, a marketplace (specifically in ancient Rome); a borrowing of Latin forum, "marketplace", which is apparently related to foris, foras "out of doors, outside".

The transferred sense in English of assembly, or place, for public discussion, is first recorded in 1690.

—Excerpts from A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language,
Dr. Ernest Klein, Elsevier Publishing Company; New York, 1966.
This entry is located in the following unit: foren-, fore- (page 3)
(Latin: forensis of a forum, place of assembly; public, public speaking; foras, foranus, outside, residing outside, out of doors)