parliamentary

adjective

par·​lia·​men·​ta·​ry ˌpär-lə-ˈmen-t(ə-)rē 

 also  ˌpärl-yə-

1

a

: of or relating to a parliament

parliamentary elections

parliamentary debate

b

: enacted, done, or ratified by a parliament

a parliamentary grant of money

2

: of or adhering to the parliament as opposed to the king during the English Civil War

… rendered the parliamentary armies … victorious.

—David Hume

3

: of, based on, or having the characteristics of parliamentary government

parliamentary democracy

4

: of or relating to members of a parliament

have the leader selected by the parliamentary caucus

—London Times

5

: of or according to parliamentary law

parliamentary procedure

Examples of parliamentary in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Yoon's martial law decree and parliamentary impeachment have triggered a political storm, disrupting state affairs, halting high-level diplomacy and sending shockwaves through financial markets at a time when the country was already grappling with a faltering economy. —Kim Tong-Hyung The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 21 Dec. 2024

Has been a member of the parliamentary procedures team for four years. —Andy Humbles, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024

Nationalist parties surged in elections to the European Parliament, the British general election, the French and Austrian parliamentary elections, the Romanian presidential election and German regional elections. —Ben Ansell, NPR, 20 Dec. 2024

Following the November splintering of Germany’s three-party ruling coalition, the government collapsed Monday after Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for — and lost — a parliamentary confidence vote. —Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 17 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin parlamentārius, parliamentārius, from parlamentum, parliamentum parliament + Latin -ārius -ary entry 2

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing parliamentary

• parliamentary government
• parliamentary law

Kids Definition

parliamentary

adjective

par·​lia·​men·​ta·​ry ˌpär-lə-ˈment-ə-rē 

-ˈmen-trē,

 also  ˌpärl-yə-

1

: of, relating to, or enacted by a parliament

2

: of or relating to government by a cabinet whose members belong to and are responsible to the legislature

3

: of or according to the rules governing the way in which official meetings (as of a parliament or congress) are conducted

parliamentary procedure

Legal Definition

parliamentary

adjective

par·​lia·​men·​ta·​ry ˌpär-lə-ˈmen-tə-rē, ˌpärl-yə- 

1

a

: of or relating to a parliament

b

: enacted, done, or ratified by a parliament

2

: of, based on, or having the characteristics of parliamentary government

3

: of or relating to the members of a parliament

4

: of or according to parliamentary law