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

The fact that it was a parlor game, not pointillism, that inspired the lyric is proof of Sondheim’s credo that “playful doesn’t mean trivial any more than solemn means serious.”

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Nor was she supervising the housemaids as they dusted knickknacks in the parlor.

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She marched to the front parlor, where Lady Constance’s personal stationery was kept in an antique writing desk worth more than a whole fleet of governesses could earn in a year.

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Or perhaps it was the prospect of dessert that lifted everyone’s spirits; in any case, the entire party moved to the parlor for after-dinner sweets and drinks.

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“It appears that Lady Constance is in high dudgeon,” Miss Penelope Lumley thought to herself, as she stood just outside the doorway of the lady’s private parlor.

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Related Words

• drawing room 
• living room 
• lounge 
• salon