parliament

Obsolete, par·le·ment

[pahr-luh-muhnt, pahrl-yuh-]

noun

1. (usually initial capital letter),  the legislature of Great Britain, historically the assembly of the three estates, now composed of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal, forming together the House of Lords, and representatives of the counties, cities, boroughs, and universities, forming the House of Commons.

2. (usually initial capital letter),  the legislature of certain British colonies and possessions.

3. a legislative body in any of various other countries.

4. French History.,  any of several high courts of justice in France before 1789.

5. a meeting or assembly for conference on public or national affairs.

6. Cards.,  fan-tan.

parliament

¹

/ ˈpɑːləmənt /

noun

1. an assembly of the representatives of a political nation or people, often the supreme legislative authority

2. any legislative or deliberative assembly, conference, etc

3. Also: parlement. (in France before the Revolution) any of several high courts of justice in which royal decrees were registered

Parliament

²

/ ˈpɑːləmənt /

noun

1. the highest legislative authority in Britain, consisting of the House of Commons, which exercises effective power, the House of Lords, and the sovereign

2. a similar legislature in another country

3. the two chambers of a Parliament

4. the lower chamber of a Parliament

5. any of the assemblies of such a body created by a general election and royal summons and dissolved before the next election

parliament

1. An assembly of representatives, usually of an entire nation, that makes laws. Parliaments began in the Middle Ages in struggles for power between kings and their people. Today, parliaments differ from other kinds of legislatures in one important way: some of the representatives in the parliament serve as government ministers, in charge of carrying out the laws that the parliament passes. Generally, a parliament is divided by political parties, and the representative who leads the strongest political party in the parliament becomes the nation's head of government. This leader is usually called the prime minister or premier. Typically, a different person — usually a king, queen, or president — is head of state, and this person's duties are usually more ceremonial than governmental.

The number of nations governed by parliaments has greatly increased in modern times.

Other Word Forms

• antiparliament adjective
• interparliament adjective
• subparliament noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of parliament¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English: “discourse, consultation, Parliament,” from Anglo-Latin parliamentum, alteration of Medieval Latin parlāmentum, from Old French parlement “a speaking, conference” ( parle, -ment ); replacing Middle English parlement, from Old French

Word History and Origins

Origin of parliament¹

C13: from Anglo-Latin parliamentum, from Old French parlement, from parler to speak; see _parley

Example Sentences

However, the governments of Sir Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher passed more legislation through parliament in their first 16 months in office.

Read more on BBC

According to the first exit poll, the pro-European, centrist D66 party was projected as the winner with 27 seats out of the 150 in parliament.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Entering parliament at the tender age of 30, he became leader of the D66 just a year later, the youngest ever to hold the post.

Read more on Barron's

"With pain in my heart, I step down as your party leader," the 64-year-old told supporters, after exit polls suggested his group had slipped from 25 seats in parliament to 20.

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The new House of Representatives will meet to begin the business of forming a cabinet -- "a complex and exciting process", as the parliament's own website describes it.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• court