parlour

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑːlə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑɹlɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (Nigeria) IPA^(key): /ˈpaːlɔː/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)lə(ɹ)

Noun

parlour (plural parlours)

1. Commonwealth standard spelling of parlor.
   • 1829, Mary Howitt, The Spider and the Fly, published 1853:

     Will you walk into my parlour, said a Spider to a Fly; / 'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy.

   • 1892, Walter Besant, chapter III, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:

     At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors. […] In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.

Derived terms

• parlour pink

Middle English

Alternative forms

• parler, parlere, parllour, parlore, parloure, parlowr, parlowre, parlur, parlure

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French parleor, parloir, parleoir, from Old French parler (“to speak”); equivalent to parlen +‎ -our.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /parˈluːr/, /ˈparlur/

Noun

parlour (plural parlours)

1. A room for private use, usually to the side of a building's main room.
2. A room or opening for monastics to communicate with laypeople.
3. (rare) A room for discussion; a meeting room.

Descendants

• English: parlor, parlour
• Scots: parlour

References

• “parlǒur, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.