parlor

especially British, par·lour

[pahr-ler]

noun

1. Older Use.,  a room for the reception and entertainment of visitors to one's home; living room.

2. a room, apartment, or building serving as a place of business for certain businesses or professions.

   funeral parlor; beauty parlor.

3. a somewhat private room in a hotel, club, or the like for relaxation, conversation, etc.; lounge.

4. Also called locutorium. a room in a monastery or the like where the inhabitants may converse with visitors or with each other.

adjective

1. advocating something, as a political view or doctrine, at a safe remove from actual involvement in or commitment to action.

   parlor leftism; parlor pink.

Word History and Origins

Origin of parlor¹

1175–1225; Middle English parlur < Anglo-French; Old French parleor, equivalent to parl ( er ) to speak ( parle ) + -eor -or ²

Example Sentences

He made a once-popular parlor instrument brand new, punching every piano roll himself and then letting the machine play faster than any dozen real-life pianists could, making for palpable Niagaras of sound.

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There’s an ice cream parlor, a food hall, and a bar shaped like a luggage carousel.

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I am sitting in a tent placed inside the parlor of a Victorian-era house.

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Among its first buildings were a land office, a beauty parlor, a motel, two restaurants and a feed store — all with Old West facades.

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To beat the long lines and city crowds, I trekked to the parlor on Sunday, the final day of the ice cream’s NYC debut.

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Related Words

• drawing room 
• living room 
• lounge 
• salon