parleyvoo

verb (intr)

to speak French

noun

the French language
a Frenchman

Word Origin for parleyvoo

C20: jocular respelling of parlez-vous (français) ? do you speak (French)?

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

Examples from the Web for parleyvoo

Historical Examples of parleyvoo

And Parleyvoo Pickens, the wrong reverend, writes out a marriage certificate, and farmer and farmeress sign it as witnesses.
The Gentle Grafter
O. Henry

Word Origin and History for parleyvoo

colloquial for "the French language," 1754, from French parlez-vous (français?) "do you speak (French?)" For parlez, see parley (n.).