- a variation of parlor.
parlour
Americannoun
noun
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old-fashioned a living room, esp one kept tidy for the reception of visitors
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a reception room in a priest's house, convent, etc
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a small room for guests away from the public rooms in an inn, club, etc
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a room or shop equipped as a place of business
a billiard parlor
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a small shop, esp one selling cakes and nonalcoholic drinks
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Also called: milking parlour. a building equipped for the milking of cows
Spelling
See -or 1.
Etymology
Origin of parlour
C13: from Anglo-Norman parlur, from Old French parleur room in convent for receiving guests, from parler to speak; see parley
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He had the extra line added at the same parlour he had the original done, Holy Trinity Tattoo Studio in Standish, and said he was happy with the result.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
On a dairy farm near Swindon, Sam Woolford presses a switch on the wall of the milking parlour and 10 industrial-scale fans whirr into life.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
The cows like it too, it seems, and crucially, they linger in the milking parlour, clearly cool and relaxed.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Beverley, her husband and other families are campaigning for changes to funeral parlour regulations, backed by a number of lawmakers.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
At this moment he advanced from the parlour.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
