parliamentarian

noun

par·​lia·​men·​tar·​i·​an ˌpär-lə-ˌmen-ˈter-ē-ən 

-mən-,

 also  ˌpärl-yə-

1

often capitalized : an adherent of the parliament in opposition to the king during the English Civil War

2

: an expert in the rules and usages of a deliberative assembly (such as a parliament)

3

: a member of a parliament

Examples of parliamentarian in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This past year, Gambian parliamentarians considered a bill to overturn the ban. —Chantelle Lee, TIME, 20 Feb. 2025

The Senate parliamentarian must also sign off on the package, and settles disputes over whether a provision has direct budgetary consequences. —Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2025

Lebanese parliamentarians have named Nawaf Salam, a diplomat and former judge at the International Court of Justice, as Prime Minister-designate, tasking him with forming a government in a country that has been in caretaker mode since 2022. —Sally Abou Aljoud, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2025

Zanoni, along with Luana Zanella, a national parliamentarian from the Green Party, has filed parliamentary questions urging Italian authorities to investigate the matter. —Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

parliament + -arian

First Known Use

1642, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for parliamentarian

• authoritarian
• communitarian
• disciplinarian
• egalitarian
• equalitarian
• humanitarian
• majoritarian
• octogenarian
• radiolarian
• totalitarian
• utilitarian
• agrarian

Kids Definition

parliamentarian

noun

par·​lia·​men·​tar·​i·​an ˌpär-lə-ˌmen-ˈter-ē-ən 

-mən-,

 also  ˌpärl-yə-

: an expert in parliamentary procedure

Legal Definition

parliamentarian

noun

par·​lia·​men·​tar·​i·​an ˌpär-lə-ˌmen-ˈtar-ē-ən, ˌpärl-yə-, -mən- 

1

: an expert in the rules and usages of a parliament or other deliberative assembly

specifically, often capitalized : an officer of a legislative body acting as adviser on matters of procedure

Note: The parliamentarian of the U.S. House of Representatives is appointed by the Speaker of the House. The Secretary of the Senate appoints the Senate's parliamentarian with approval of the majority leader.

2

: a member of a parliament