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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. Idle chatter.
  2. n. Talk intended to charm or beguile.
  3. n. Obsolete A parley between European explorers and representatives of local populations, especially in Africa.
  4. v. To flatter or cajole.
  5. v. To chatter idly.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. 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.
  2. n. Parley; conference.
  3. n. Flattery; adulation; talk intended to deceive.
  4. n. Synonyms and See prattle, n.
  5. To talk idly or plausibly; indulge in palaver.
  6. To flatter; cajole.
  7. n. Business; an affair to be settled; affairs.
  8. n. A dodge; a contrivance; a plot.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A village council meeting.
  2. n. Talk, especially unnecessary talk, fuss.
  3. n. A meeting at which there is much talk.
  4. n. Disagreement.
  5. v. To discuss with much talk.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. Talk; conversation; esp., idle or beguiling talk; talk intended to deceive; flattery.
  2. n. In Africa, a parley with the natives; a talk; hence, a public conference and deliberation; a debate.
  3. v. To make palaver with, or to; to used palaver; to talk idly or deceitfully; to employ flattery; to cajole.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. have a lengthy discussion, usually between people of different backgrounds
  2. v. speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly
  3. v. influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
  4. n. flattery intended to persuade
  5. n. loud and confused and empty talk

Etymologies

  1. Portuguese palavra, speech, alteration of Late Latin parabola, speech, parable; see parable.

Examples

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Comments

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  • 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

‘palaver’ has been looked up 4903 times, loved by 21 people, added to 111 lists, commented on 9 times, and has a Scrabble score of 12.