parlor

American  

[pahr-ler] / ˈpɑr lər /

especially British, parlour

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.

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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.

Etymology

Origin of parlor

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

Example Sentences

Don't call it the "Marty Supreme" effect: table tennis is a growing sport in the United States, in part because of a new professional league giving the parlor game an ultra-competitive edge.

From Barron's

I must have led them up to Tante Jans’s front room that we used now as a parlor.

From Literature

Don’t take our word for it—take a gander at developments in commodity prices besides energy, or financial gaming parlors such as the private-credit market.

From The Wall Street Journal

“He let me use the ladder to wad the bell. Then he must of give Tansy a cowbell from the milking parlor to even the score. He was playing fair again.”

From Literature

On the ground floor of the boardinghouse the parlor and dining room are empty—the boarders with jobs have left for the day.

From Literature

Related Words

• drawing room
• living room
• lounge
• salon