parlous
Part of speech: adj
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: From Middle English parles, parlous, perlous, [and other forms], a contraction of perilous (“dangerous; dreadful, terrible; morally corrupt, sinful, wicked; inauspicious, unlucky”) (and thus a doublet of perilous), from Old French perilleus, perillos, perillous, perilluse, perilleuse, perilleux (“very dangerous, perilous”) (modern French périlleux), from Latin perīculōsus (“dangerous, hazardous, perilous”), from perīculum (“danger, hazard, peril, risk”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through, carry forth, try”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of, prone to’ forming adjectives).
Inflected forms:
form: more parlous
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: most parlous
pos: adj
tags: superlative
Senses:
gloss: Attended with peril; dangerous, risky.
pos: adj
examples: The situation became parlous when the weather made resupply impossible.
[B]ables and comedies are parlous fellowes to decipher, and diſcourage men (that is the point) with their wittie flowtes and learned jerkes, enough to laſh any man out of countenance.
The tongue is a sharp and parlous weapon, which we are bound to keep up in the sheath, or never to draw forth but advisedly, and upon just occasion; it must ever be wielded with caution and care: to brandish it wantonly, to lay about with it blindly and furiously, to slash and smite therewith any that happeth to come in our way, doth argue malice or madness.
The safest way in such a parlous doubt, / Is steady watch and keep a sharp look out.
gloss: Appalling, dire, terrible.
pos: adj
examples: in a parlous state
All whiche offences and mysdemenors abovesaid have bene commytted to the grete hurte and undoyng of your orator, and the right evill and parlous example, [etc.]; […]
The preſent panges and parlous thoughts, / That pearceth troubled minds: / Is knowne to none but ſuch I ſay, / That lacke of freedome finds.
[Nick] Bot[tom]. There are things in this Comedy of Piramus and Thisby, that will neuer pleaſe. Firſt, Piramus muſt draw a ſword to kill himſelfe; which the Ladys cannot abide. How anſwer you that? / [Tom] Snout. Berlaken, a parlous feare.
Thou haſt a parlous judgement; but let that paſſe, / She is as truly vertuous, faire, and noble, / As her great Mother's good; and that's not ordinary.
Isa. Y'are a parlous Fool.
Ant. No danger in me: I bring nought but Love
This is a Nero-like fiddling Budget which will frustrate and annoy people and will do nothing effective to get us out of this parlous state of near bankruptcy which the Labour Government has landed us in.
Citizens who have endured the pain of short-term "reform" for the prospect of "gain" in the future grow impatient; incomplete or corrupted reform efforts have left many new democracies vulnerable and many new market economies in a parlous state.
During these suppers McCluskey's conversation centred almost exclusively around the parlous moral, cultural and environmental state of the planet.
Relics of the old GWR broad gauge are rare on the national network. This overtrack canopy was one such, so the decision by the C&WR to retrieve it after electrification necessitated its demolition was a brave one, because its condition by then was parlous.
You can learn from them, too, even in the party’s current parlous state.
gloss: Dangerously clever or cunning; also, remarkably good or unusual.
pos: adj
tags: England
also
dialectal
obsolete
rare
examples: A parlous Boy: go too, you are too ſhrew'd.
[O]h their parlous fellows, they will ſearch more with their wits than a Cunſtable with all his officers.
This Midas knew: and durſt communicate / To none but to his wife his ears of ſtate: / One muſt be truſted, and he thought her fit, / As paſſing prudent, and a parlous wit.
The Patten, Fan, and Petticoat, / Three modern Themes of ſpecial Note, / In parlous rimes immortal live, / If rimes immortal life can give; […]
Related words: imperil
imperilment
peril
perilous
perilously
perilousness
Derived words: parlously
parlousness
Translations: