palaver
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: Originally nautical slang, from Portuguese palavra (“word”), from Late Latin parabola (“parable, speech”). The term's use (especially in Africa) mimics the evolution of the word moot. As such, for sense development, see moot. Doublet of parable, parole, and parabola.
Inflected forms:
form: palavers
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: palavers
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: palavering
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: palavered
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: palavered
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A village council meeting.
pos: noun
tags: Africa
countable
uncountable
examples: Here we remained four days, on account of a palaver which was held on the following occasion.
That night the village warriors held a big palaver to celebrate their victories, and to choose a new chief.
gloss: Talk, especially unnecessary talk; chatter.
pos: noun
tags: Canada
US
archaic
countable
uncountable
examples: Frances pulled his hair heartily, and then went and seated herself on her husband’s knee, and there they were, like two babies, kissing and talking nonsense by the hour—foolish palaver that we should be ashamed of.
These remarks were received with a differing demonstration: some of the company declaring that if the Dutchman cared to come round and smoke a pipe they would be glad to see him—perhaps he'd show where the thumbscrews had been put on; others being strongly of the opinion that they didn't want any more advice—they had already had advice enough to turn a donkey's stomach. What they wanted was to put forth their might without any more palaver; to do something, or for some one; to go out somewhere and smash something, on the spot—why not?—that very night.
Knowing full well the right time and the wrong time for a palaver of regret and disavowal, this battalion struggled in the desperation of despair.
Some of the palavers could take half a day.
gloss: Mentally draining activity, either physical or fuss.
pos: noun
tags: UK
countable
uncountable
examples: What a palaver!
Not for the first time, he reflected that it was not so much the speeches that strained the nerves as the palaver that went with them.
What's the good of going through all this palaver of giving very small sums to very obscure charities?
We fill up the bathtub for a proper bath maybe once a month because it is such a palaver. We have a 150 litre pot and a 60 litre pot that we have to fill up and boil on the wood stove which takes hours.
gloss: A meeting at which there is much talk; a debate; a moot.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: this country and epoch of parliaments and eloquent palavers
gloss: Disagreement.
pos: noun
tags: countable
informal
uncountable
examples: I have no palaver with him.
gloss: Talk intended to deceive.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: To discuss with much talk.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: “Come, come, Captain Bildad; stop palavering,—away!” and with that, Peleg hurried him over the side, and both dropt into the boat.
“That,” he rejoined, “is a way we Americans have. We cannot stop to palaver. What would become of our manifest destiny?”
gloss: To flatter.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Dodd never spoke to his officers like a ruffian, nor yet palavered them.
Derived words: palaverer
palaver hut
palaverist
palaverment
palaverous
palaver sauce
Translations:
lang: Danish
word: palaver
lang: Finnish
word: palaveri
lang: French
word: palabre
lang: German
word: Palaver
lang: Russian
word: до́лгие перегово́ры
roman: dólgije peregovóry