parlor
Americannoun
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Older Use. a room for the reception and entertainment of visitors to one's home; living room.
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a room, apartment, or building serving as a place of business for certain businesses or professions.
funeral parlor; beauty parlor.
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a somewhat private room in a hotel, club, or the like for relaxation, conversation, etc.; lounge.
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Also called locutorium. a room in a monastery or the like where the inhabitants may converse with visitors or with each other.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of parlor
1175–1225; Middle English parlur < Anglo-French; Old French parleor, equivalent to parl ( er ) to speak ( see parle) + -eor -or 2
Explanation
A parlor is a living room or a sitting room, the place in your house with comfortable chairs and sofas. You might also decide to put your giant new TV in the parlor. The noun parlor is an old-fashioned one. Still, almost anyone would know what you meant if you invited them to join you in the parlor for tea. These days, a hotel, inn, or historic house is more likely to have a parlor than a private home is. The thirteenth century version, parlur, meant "room in a monastery for holding conversations." The "conversations" part stems from parler, "to speak" in French.
Vocabulary lists containing parlor
Excerpt from "The Philosophy of Literary Form" by Kenneth Burke
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The Suffix -or, Part 4
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Louder than Hunger
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He knew most authorities believed the oldest continuously operating Chinese restaurant was the Pekin Noodle Parlor in Butte, Mont., which dated to 1909 or 1911.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2024
Rosen spent his 20s playing guitar in the New Jersey band the Parlor Mob.
From New York Times • Jan. 6, 2023
Jones, who owns the Winthrop Beauty and Styling Parlor, said she did not feel secure in renting because she saw so many rentals being sold as more people moved in to the area.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 5, 2022
LB: - The Parlor Palm is one of the most popular plants prone to overwatering.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2022
Santoro’s Pizza Parlor was across the street, and when Mr. Santoro saw all these people coming out of the Laundromat sneezing and coughing and choking, he yelled, “What’s the matter? Is it a fire?”
From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
