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

Zambia's parliament has declared vacant the seat held by the daughter of the late ex-President Edgar Lungu, because of her continued absence in the wake of his death.

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A daughter of South Africa's ex-president Jacob Zuma has resigned from parliament after claims she was involved in recruiting men to join Russian mercenaries in the Ukraine war, her party said Friday.

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Sri Lanka's parliament also suspended its budget debate so that legislators could return to their constituencies to deal with the damage.

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The reforms, approved by parliament late Thursday night, will create an independent environmental regulator and stricter rules for land clearing -- a leading cause of native animal extinctions.

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After news of the legal challenge broke, Communications Minister Anika Wells told the Australian parliament that the government would not be swayed.

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Related Words

• court