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

But before Enea can relax, Anna is rattling off a series of dreams for the future — perhaps the family opens a Halloween-inspired pizza parlor, or maybe a “haunted” home that can be rented out.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Today, the tiny community of about 600 households has a tattoo parlor, a bunch of in-home businesses and a few churches.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Two floors above the dining room and kitchen is the “parlor level,” which features two parlor spaces, both of which have their own fireplace, as well as mahogany floors.

Read more on MarketWatch

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.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

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

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• drawing room 
• living room 
• lounge 
• salon