Word of the Day

: July 29, 2021

palaver

noun puh-LAV-er

What It Means

1 a : a long discussion or meeting parley usually between persons of different cultures or levels of sophistication

b : conference, discussion

2 a : idle talk

b : misleading or beguiling speech

palaver in Context

Enough of this palaver. We have a lot to discuss.

"[Adrian Daub] brings the same sharp eye for sophistry to other forms of palaver that move capital in Silicon Valley. He revisits the actual thinkers appropriated by TED bloviators, from the philosopher Marshall McLuhan to the French historian René Girard to the novelist Ayn Rand." — Virginia Heffernan, The New York Times, 22 Nov. 2020

Did You Know?

During the 18th century, Portuguese and English sailors often met during trading trips along the West African coast. This contact prompted the English to borrow the Portuguese palavra, which usually means "speech" or "word" but was used by Portuguese traders with the specific meaning "discussions with natives." The Portuguese word traces back to the Late Latin parabola, a noun meaning "speech" or "parable."