palaver
verb
Did you know?
Let’s talk about palaver. Though the word comes from Portuguese, it likely entered English by way of the West African coast in the 18th century. Portuguese sailors there used their word palavra, which in general use means "speech" or "word," as a term for discussions with the native people they encountered. English sailors applied palaver for the same, and then brought the word back to their own shores. The Portuguese word comes ultimately from the Late Latin noun parabola, meaning "speech" or "parable." If Portuguese isn’t in your wheelhouse, perhaps you’ll recognize the influence of Latin parabola on other tongues: the Spanish palabra, for instance, means "word," and the French parler means "to speak."
Examples of palaver in a Sentence
Becca Rothfeld, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for palaver
Cite this Entry
“Palaver.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/palaver. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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