English edit

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

parlour (plural parlours)

  1. Commonwealth standard spelling of parlor.
    • 1829, Mary Howitt, The Spider and the Fly, published 1853:
      Will you walk into my parlour, said a Spider to a Fly; / 'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy.
    • 1892, Walter Besant, chapter III, in The Ivory Gate [], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, [], →OCLC:
      At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors. [] In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.

Middle English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Old French parleor, parloir, parleoir, from Old French parler (to speak); equivalent to parlen +‎ -our.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /parˈluːr/, /ˈparlur/

Noun edit

parlour (plural parlours)

  1. A room for private use, usually to the side of a building's main room.
  2. A room or opening for monastics to communicate with laypeople.
  3. (rare) A room for discussion; a meeting room.

Descendants edit

  • English: parlor, parlour
  • Scots: parlour

References edit