Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Idle chatter.
- n. Talk intended to charm or beguile.
- n. Obsolete A parley between European explorers and representatives of local populations, especially in Africa.
- v. To flatter or cajole.
- v. To chatter idly.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A long talk; a parley; a conference, such as takes, place between travelers or explorers and suspicious or hostile natives; superfluous or idle talk.
- n. Parley; conference.
- n. Flattery; adulation; talk intended to deceive.
- n. Synonyms and See prattle, n.
- To talk idly or plausibly; indulge in palaver.
- To flatter; cajole.
- n. Business; an affair to be settled; affairs.
- n. A dodge; a contrivance; a plot.
Wiktionary
- n. A village council meeting.
- n. Talk, especially unnecessary talk, fuss.
- n. A meeting at which there is much talk.
- n. Disagreement.
- v. To discuss with much talk.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Talk; conversation; esp., idle or beguiling talk; talk intended to deceive; flattery.
- n. In Africa, a parley with the natives; a talk; hence, a public conference and deliberation; a debate.
- v. To make palaver with, or to; to used palaver; to talk idly or deceitfully; to employ flattery; to cajole.
WordNet 3.0
- v. have a lengthy discussion, usually between people of different backgrounds
- v. speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly
- v. influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
- n. flattery intended to persuade
- n. loud and confused and empty talk
Etymologies
- Portuguese palavra, speech, alteration of Late Latin parabola, speech, parable; see parable.
Examples
“With all due respect, this palaver from the congressional representative is an example of the "red herrings", flawed reasoning and misguided focus prevalent within the entire debate about Health Insurance Reform.”
TX Dem: Bill without public option 'would be very, very difficult'
“And the whole Mr/Ms etc palaver is yet another bonus of having a PhD.”
“In the world of Animal Farm, most speechifying and public palaver is bullshit and instigated lying, and though many characters are good-hearted and mean well, they can be frightened into closing their eyes to what's really going on.”
“As no palaver is ever conducted without profuse libations, raw palm-spirit, distilled by themselves, was passed round in cocoa-nut shell-cups, and I was expected to keep pace – no slow one – with their drinking.”
Insulinde: Experiences of a Naturalist's Wife in the Eastern Archipelago
“Now no man may call a palaver of all small chiefs unless he notifies the government of his intention, for the government is jealous of self-appointed parliaments, for when men meet together in public conference, however innocent may be its first cause, talk invariably drifts to war, just as when they assemble and talk in private it drifts womanward.”
Bones Being Further Adventures in Mr. Commissioner Sanders' Country
“I go to the river to call a palaver of all free men," said Muchini;”
“Mandingo master can neither deprive his slave of life, nor sell him to a stranger, without first calling a palaver on his conduct, or in other words, bringing him to a public trial.”
“The Serawoolli thereupon called a palaver (or in European terms, brought an action) to recover damages for the loss of his beast, on which he set a high value.”
“Hereupon the kafir put her into confinement, and called a palaver upon the bushreen's conduct.”
“I was told, however, that the Mandingo master can neither deprive his slave of life, nor sell him to a stranger, without first calling a palaver on his conduct, or in other words, bringing him to”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘palaver’.
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Iaan
dirigisme, dystopia, cacotopia, ex ante, veritable, indefatigable, curmudgeon, desultory, antediluvian, transmogrify, pendent, elongate and 136 more...
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of Montreal
Every time I finally decipher Kevin Barnes's song lyrics, I feel somewhat smarter.
These are strange/big/obscure words and phrases from the lyrics of the band 'of Montreal' (intentiona...southern hemisphe..., paradigm, Phaidon Press, permutation, List Christie, Gemini Tactics, eluardian, persecution complex, Himmlers, parabola, Mono Club, subconscious mass... and 132 more...
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coax
cajole, blandish, inveigle, palaver, croodle, woo, charm, sweet-talk, tweedle, persuade, gentle, jolly and 5 more...
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Words of the day
The list of Wordnik words of the day.
panurgic, chapfallen, billingsgate, latration, witticaster, slitheroo, rux, crotchet, mirliton, arenose, ruelle, jane-of-apes and 76 more...
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words I learned from Firefly
Joss Whedon knows no shame
fancible, foufaraw, frippery, corpsified, shindig, rutting, creepifying, gorram, ironical, sanguine, pantywaist ijit, whinge and 24 more...
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These words are about words.
words on words. yyep.
codex, folio, lexicon, tome, word stock, wordbook, wordlist, palaver, word index, argot, parlance, doublespeak and 68 more...
Louises See dissemblance Mar 3, 2012
duckbill Very often used with a subaudition of humbug. Apr 19, 2011
grant_barrett This word was chosen as Wordnik word of the day. Nov 11, 2009
plethora Context. Aug 16, 2008
drosselmeier This word has a lot of definitions that don't have anything to do with each other. How would anyone know what you meant by it? Aug 16, 2008
qroqqa The word is from Portuguese palavra "word, speech" (thus cognate with 'parley', 'parable', 'parole', 'parliament' etc.) and probably comes into English via some African pidgin, as early uses all refer to discussions or disputes with or among Africans. Thence it passed in a fairly wide range of different senses relating to speech, dispute, or persuasion. Aug 13, 2008
thtownse This word was used by Rudyard Kipling to refer to a meeting or gathering. One can see the relationship with its 'current' meaning. Aug 13, 2008
seanahan Who paid in palaver and crumpled old dollars
Which we squirreled away
In our rat-trap hotel by the freeway
And we slept in Sundays Aug 13, 2007
amydlite This reminds me of the Gunslinger
Dec 13, 2006