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palaver

[ puh-lav-er, ‐lah-ver ]
/ pəˈlæv ər, ‐ˈlɑ vər /
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noun

verb (used without object), pa·lav·ered, pa·lav·er·ing.

to talk profusely and idly.
to parley or confer.

verb (used with object), pa·lav·ered, pa·lav·er·ing.

to cajole or persuade.

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RELATED WORDS

conference, dialogue, wheedle, conversation, parley, babble, flatter, discussion, gab, chitchat, clack, blab, chatter, debate, talk, flummery, cajolery

Nearby words

  1. palatorrhaphy,
  2. palatoschisis,
  3. palatum,
  4. palau,
  5. palau islands,
  6. palawan,
  7. palazzo,
  8. palazzo pants,
  9. pale,
  10. pale horse

Origin of palaver

1720–30; < Portuguese palavra word, speech, talk < Late Latin parabola parable
Related formspa·lav·er·er, pa·lav·er·ist, nounpa·lav·er·ment, nounpa·lav·er·ous, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for palaver

British Dictionary definitions for palaver

palaver

/ (pəˈlɑːvə) /

noun

verb

Word Origin for palaver

C18: from Portuguese palavra talk, from Latin parabola parable
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for palaver

palaver

n.

1733 (implied in palavering), "talk, conference, discussion," sailors' slang, from Portuguese palavra "word, speech, talk," traders' term for "negotiating with the natives" in West Africa, metathesis of Late Latin parabola "speech, discourse," from Latin parabola "comparison" (see parable). Meaning "idle talk" first recorded 1748. The verb is 1733, from the noun. Related: Palavering.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper